Better...

a man between the sheets than a woman in the kitchen! Not sure this particular truth translates?

Truth however is that my ex's have mostly been better in the kitchen than I. Does that mean I'm better between the sheets :) ?

Communication

Back to one of my favourite topics. This is what life is about (in my (maybe?) humble opinion...but it's my blog so what the heck :) ).

Anyway, was out this afternoon with two of my class mates. Both Swiss. One is fluent in English, the other one speaks no English whatsoever. So we communicated in hoch-Deutsch. And when words weren't enough (yes, for me since I am not 100% fluent yet) body language worked fine.

So, conclusion is that language is not the No 1 priority. Willingness to communicate is. Along with understanding, tolerance, and an open mind.

But again, that's my humble-ish opinion only...comments?

Craftsmen/women

For a long time I wanted to have a kitchen ladder, meaning a chair with three steps that you can use when there is no man in sight (or indeed a tall woman) to get things for you from the top shelf. IKEA didn't offer this, so I was biding my time.

By accident I ran into this handwritten ad by a tram stop. It was funny because the ad itself held pictures from furniture, and by hand written footsteps showing the way to where this place was located.

OK, so I went there. Only to be confronted with a factory, no showing room, no people who spoke anything else than Swiss-German. I was lost. But those who want to communicate do. So I did. Explained (how? I still don't know :) that I wanted this "kitchen ladder". We went around the place and all of a sudden I saw one. It wasn't anything they sold, but used in the factory. Told them this is what I wanted, but with a bigger top shelf. At this time the carpenter asked whether I wanted a holder for the drink as well :) (indeed a good idea, but I politely declined).

Turned out that the factory was for students who learned to be carpenters. You could indeed order furniture, but it was like the opposite of IKEA. But I ordered and got the best "kitchen ladder" I ever had (not that I had one before :). Yes, it took 6 weeks for them to make it, and it cost me a little bit but I'm happy. I got what I wanted. And I bet it'll last 'til the end of my days.

PS. The bigger top shelf is for people who visit my kitchen, when they want to "join in" when I cook. Meaning they can sit and watch :)

PS. Tried to upload a pic from my beloved kitchen ladder, but blogger is not working with me.

Air mattress

Have an air mattress, on which I slept when I had guests here. It is really very comfortable, at least once you have inflated it. Which is not easily done, since it has a foot pump and becomes something like 2x2m. Lotsa pumping.

After usage you pull the plug and then air seeps out. But not enough. So you need to do something extra. And listen up girls! This is one reason there are men :)...see for yourself!

Spoiled

I am indeed a spoiled person. Yesterday a friend of mine showed up, carrying food. First he helped with picking the chilis (ok, I could do that) and then he used a needle and thread to hang them all up to dry! I'm not the housewifey type in case you hadn't picked that up already.

Then he made dinner: lambrack, wild pig, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts, salad, red wine sauce. Oh my, was I full after that!

And today I got a late birthday gift from a class acquaintance. A box of Sprüngli delicacies, which is very delicious chocolate thingies (gungels for the Swiss!). I was instructed not to share them with anybody (like I would!!!).

Most of the time I think I am so lucky...but then people like flatmates interfere in my life, and then I have other thoughts :)

Gonorrhoea

For those of you who cannot see the borat-link of deleted scenes (which I watch over and over, since they are so very funny)...here's a written version of the gonorrhoea scene:

Doctor: How did you get gonorrhea?
Borat: From a make-a sexy time. I have had gonorrhea many times. Ze ladies very much like Borat, high-five (does high-five with the doctor). I have also had other disease in this area.
Doctor: Do you know what they were?
Borat: I once catche herpes from my sister.
Doctor: That means you had sexual relations with your sister.
Borat: Yes.
Doctor: And is that unusual in your country?
Borat: Only of a feast of Zürich (he actually says something else, but it does sound like Zürich :)
Doctor: Did you ever had sexual relations with any other family member?
Borat: No, I amma not sick.

Scare

Got a bit of a scare today. Went to my usual place with a friendgirl (yes, I know it's Monday but it's our favourite band). And no, we're not groupies, at least not I :)...well, we had a good time, lotsa rock'n'roll and fun.

In passing my friendgirl mentioned she sent the place some pictures, and they were posted on the website! Oh dear. But gotta admit, just checked, they are well hidden in a gallery somewhere, and there is only one of me. Decent. So phew, no probs.

Klopapier?

Just now we are debating whether klopapier is pc to say. Ze Germans say that it is more speaking language than written language. Here in Switzerland it seems ok to say klopapier rather than toilettenpapier (both meaning toilet paper in case you didn't get it). Klo coming from water closet I suppose.

Yes, we don't have big problems here, having time to discuss trivia like this :)

Q&A

Time for Q&A’s. For some reason I have received several versions of an email the last couple of weeks. You know the ones where you are asked to answer a lot of questions, and then send it on to your friends/acquaintances in order to get to know them better. I have a better idea. I post the questions and my answers here, and those of you who feel so inclined, please post your answers under comments. It would indeed be nice with SOME answers :)

A. 4 movies I can see over and over again:
1. Gone with the wind (a classic!)
2. Pretty woman (obviously!)
3. The green mile (like Tom Hanks)
4. Something’s gotta give with Jack Nicholson, or anything with Jack N really.

B. 4 places I lived in:
1. Zürich
2. Utrecht
3. Copenhagen
4. Varberg

C. 4 programs I watch on telly:
1. Sex and the city
2. Desperate housewives
3. News
4. Documentaries

D. 4 places I went on holiday to:
1. Australia (highlight was to snorkle at the Great Barrier Reef)
2. Caribbean (St Martin)
3. Cook Island (Rarotonga)
4. Spain (all over the place really)

E. 4 websites I visit daily:
1. google.com
2. dictionary.cambridge.org
3. tagesanzeiger.ch
4. blogger.com :)

F. 4 places, where I’d rather be just now:
1. Nowhere really, Zürich rocks!
2. Maybe Australia, if I could beam myself there and didn’t have to fly
3. South Africa would be interesting
4. I liked the Caribbean, perhaps Jamaica?

Long cat

OK, last item about the cats I looked after over the weekend. When I was last there on Sunday morning, two of them kinda showed up just to see who was coming. I'd say it was progress, but slow. When I was busy in the kitchen filling up food, one of them stood on his/hers? hind legs (and became indeed a very long cat), sniffing my jacket. It was like he/she decided that it was time to check out who this person was, who was coming on a regular basis talking to herself, emptying the poo boxes and filling up on food.

Just too bad it was my last visit :)

Borat

Saturday, 22.12
Funniest in the world right now? Probably Borat (former Ali G) http://www.boratonline.co.uk/ Check out the deleted scenes, hilarious!

Haven’t seen the movie yet, but will as soon as it comes out on dvd.

Wintertime

For once I remembered, so have already changed the clocks. But I’m sure there will be some I’ve forgotten. You know there are so many. Clock radio by the bed, mobile phone, microwave, a few small clocks around the flat, the kitchen clock etc etc. The only one that updates by itself is the pc. And it’s going back. The time i.e. Difficult times await people. Darkness, cold, even snow...this calls for a drink I think. To celebrate...but what? That it was better before? Think I prefer to look at it like it’s gonna be better. After the winter :)

Bus

Saturday, 21.15
Went on the bus the other day. Since there are a lot of public transportation in Zürich (buses, trams, trains and boats) accidents do happen occasionally. And when they do, they are announced over the speaker system.

This afternoon something happened. It was announced like "there has been an accident and therefore tram No so-and-so...scheisse". Which means they started to make the announcement, and in the middle of it they either got new info or didn’t know what to say. Therefore scheisse (shit). Obviously they should have shut off the speaker system before, but it gave the driver and us in the bus a good laugh :)

Shit

Saturday, 21.06
Went to the cats this morning and this evening again. They don’t seem to eat much (mind you, neither would I if all I got was dry food – doesn’t look very appealing to me) but they shit. A lot. Big lumps. That I have to get out of the boxes. They have two to choose from, spoiled little creatures. OK, so I use a sort of spade which lets the sand get through but not the shit. And then I put whatever is left on the spade in a plastic bag.

Did have cats myself but a long time ago, and have forgotten how bad it smells. Even though I’m a smoker I’m still gagging while doing this. Thanks to some friends who (unannounced!!! and this is Switzerland – and one of them is Swiss!) showed up, I had had a few glasses of wine. That helped with the smell.

Anyway, the red one let me close today. She/he let me pet her/him for a short while. Did have these big black eyes though, so you’d understand she/he was on guard. OK, I got the message. Don’t think they have a grateful bone in their body, I mean, would you have somebody get rid of your shit and then don’t thank them?

But hey, I love cats. Really. They are so fantastically arrogant, but cuddly when they want to. I can relate to that :)

Instant gratification

Saturday, 21.01
Posting on blogger today is not working. Bugger. It is so irritating since I’m an instant gratification type of person. I want to see results. Immediately.

So will resign to type my blogs into Word, and post them later. Funnily enough my previously posts (error) show in my list of items, but not on the blog itself so please understand if some things show twice when they finally fix the bug.

PS. Blogger finally working again, so here goes.

Test

Testing testing. Blogger has been funny all day, not posting the items. Although they show up on my list of blogged items, they do not appear on the blog.

So, just wanna say it's not my fault :)...it's somebody else's...as usual. HAHA!

Blog

What's wrong with blogger? I have tried to post pics from the party for those of you who couldn't be there (alternatively were not invited :)...but get errors all the time. However the blog is stored, so I'll give it some time and see if it posts later. Patience people, patience!

A few pics from the party

Hoi, keep your hands off my cousin!

Cats

So did my first round on cat duty. But must say they weren't very friendly. Most animals I've known always come rushing when it's food time, but these not. The red and the grey were around, but held their distance. The black one I didn't see at all.

Unfortunately duty also involved removing the output. Gosh, did they shit a lot since this morning!

But they are cute, I'll give them that!

Friendboy

OK, last one for today (or yesterday, depending how you look at it). Remember the friendgirl word? Which I used as an anecdote introducing the person who "invented" this word. At my party, this got talked about. And two women approached me, saying they had invented a new word: friendboy.

Gotta admit, wasn't too impressed, because it goes without saying if you have friendgirl you can also have friendboy. Only, they thought it was a revelation.

Mind you, they had a few drinks before :)

Flatmate

So haven't gotten any requests for follow-up on flatmate. Except for the local people who asked. I will take that as being "polite", not asking about bad things. Just in case you wondered, flatmate finally showed up at 2.30 in the morning two days ago. I had finally given up, going to bed, but since I had a cunning plan (leaving the key in the door on the inside, meaning he had to ring the bell to get in) I got him.

We had a bit of an argument, he didn't understand why he had to move out (told ya, being a man and all). But he understands. Or so I would like to think. Not that I've seen him until late tonight when he walked into "my" bar. At which time I thought it would be a good time to leave. So did. Taking a taxi on my own. He can walk home for all I care...revenge is sweet :)

Character

Apparently I have none. This evening a few sms's were flying around like "are you going out tonight?", answer "yes, when and where?". You can guess the rest. I just got home. It's almost 2 o'clock. In the morning. Oh dear. And I really really intended to go home early. After all, I have class tomorrow. But it wasn't to be. And this late at night I get to think about Shakespeare (shake that beer, which was a joke from last Saturday BTW). To be or not to be. Well, I guess I be :)...and for ze Swiss here, please don't use that grammar irl :)

Tonight was really funny actually. A new band played, but in the audience were other band members (3 bands to be exact...and yes I know them now being a regular). Competition. Band guests were invited to the stage. Played. Got intense. We all went singing. And I turned into a xylophone if not player so a holder. You know, holding the wooden thingie they play on.

I also danced with one of the guys who plays in a band, well he didn't play tonight but normally he does, and he actually could dance. Sort of. My experience, which is a bit "back-dated" (remember the 80's?) is that guys who play in bands cannot dance. Purely because they never get the chance to practice. Good to know I was wrong. Sorta ;)

Anyway, it was fun and sometimes that's all that matters. Right?

Cleaning hunk

Think I must consider changing my cleaning man :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m97WmDZFkA

Thank you!

I’d like to thank the following people for being at my birthday party resp remembering me via phone calls, cards, emails or sms's. Gosh, I hope I haven't forgotten anybody :) Here you are:

Party animals:
D&J&H from Sweden
U from Ireland
A from Denmark
E from Norway
R&K from Switzerland
S from Switzerland
R from Australia/Switzerland
K from US
U from Sweden
R from Sweden
A from Switzerland
K from Germany

Cards:
A from Australia
K from Sweden
A&K from Jersey
M&J from Norway

Flowers sent:
E&S from Sweden
K&G with families from Sweden

Phone calls:
H from Switzerland
Y&D from Sweden
M&B from the Netherlands
P from Northern Ireland
M from Sweden
JH from Norway

Emails/sms’s:
B from Australia
M from Switzerland
H from Denmark
K&S from Sweden (temp in Thailand)
R in Germany
P&A from Switzerland
M&HR from Switzerland
N from Switzerland
G from Switzerland
B from Switzerland (thanks also for the book!)
G&D from Switzerland
K from US

I must say again, I am a lucky person with so many friends!

No worries

I took precautions, just in case flatmate would not be pleasantly surprised, hearing he has to move out. Not sure he gets it, being a man and all. So got a friend of mine staying the night. Or as another friend put it: "you've got a friendly giant here" :)

Guess he thought my friend is big, which in a way he is. But everything is relative. Could also be because my other friend is really small.

And I'm still waiting...

Confrontation

Since flatmate didn't wanna speak the short time he was "home" this evening (btw not even bothering to say hello to my friends being here), I suggested we have that talk when he got home. Still waiting, and it's almost 2 o'clock in the morning. Now, I would like to challenge the men reading this blog: what is it with men not wanting to confront issues? In my mind if you have a problem you solve it.

Talking about it is a good start. If you just sweep the problem under the carpet, it's not gonna go away (like "ze perfect manager" who I happen to know and who commented on the blog recently and who suggested that to part is to die a little...here's a hint...he's not ze perfect manager but the one who was an expert on sweeping all sorts of problems under the carpet...btw he still thinks they disappeared :).

So, guess it's a story to be cont'd...

Service

This is the woman who took care of us in the restaurant (and a great job she did).

Hunky-dory

I realize from the previous blog items that you thought my party over the past weekend was all hunky-dory. And it was (thanks to my real friends...where would I be without my friends?), but at the same time somebody screwed up.

Flatmate. You know the guy who moved in a couple of months ago. I invited him to my party, thought that was a nice thing to do since he lived with me. I have really helped him with all sorts of things. Being flexible with him moving in here, lent him money (which I did get back but still), gave him my old mobile phone when his was stolen, paid bills for him, washed his clothes (not ironing mind you) etc etc. And he knew from months ago that he needed to find another place for three nights this weekend. I even offered to find the place for him.

Still he fucked it up.
1. He put his wash in the machine on Friday morning (the same day I was having three people moving in) and left it there. What am I? A friggin housewife? Besides when you have guests you don't want wet clothes hanging around.
2. He came in Friday afternoon being all stressed because his so called friend had just sent an sms telling him that he couldn't stay there. So I fixed another place for him to stay for the night. My friend got the bed ready and I had the key. Sent him a couple of sms's to say it's all taken care of, he never bothered to reply. And he never showed.
3. I had reserved space in the restaurant, and included him on the guest-list. He didn't even call.
4. He ordered mail to my address, which I explicitly had asked him not to. It didn't help that the post office rang the door at 9 o'clock on Saturday morning (the day of my big party) when the four of us had only slept four hours.

Finally got an sms on Sunday, saying he was sorry. Well, I'm sorry, but that's too late mate. I didn't reply. Today, got another sms stating "I'm coming home this evening, hope you're still not angry". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

PS. Had a few guests this evening when he did come "home", but he left almost immediately not wanting to confront the issue when I said we need to talk. Hey, what else is new with men? So, here I am, waiting for him to come back. Does he even realize he's not welcome anymore?

"Aftermath"

So, Sunday I had three people moving out and two people moving in. Those who had flights back home on the Monday. We were kinda tired you could say, but they spent the day walking the streets of Zürich (20°C and sunshine - I ordered it especially), whereas I got reacquainted with my dvd player since I got a few films from home. Oh dear.

First of all I realized that my 79 CHF dvd-player from 3 years ago was caving in. Here it is probably appropriate to mention the 800 CHF surround system that I bought when I first moved here only lasted one year (f...ing Mediamarkt!), well to be more exact one year and a few days, just enough for the guarantee to run out. But it was funny since the film was running, the background sound was ok, but the people were whispering. Which meant that if you wanted to see the film you needed to have the subtitles switched on. V. weird.

Problem solved by a friend from the party visiting. Shortly joined by my cousin who was also at the party. And a bit later by the walking people, so ended up only watching a movie in the evening. With whispering people, but still a very nice evening. Joined by friends I felt very relaxed (and über-tired but that's another matter :).

PS. Happened to know a friend who had a spare player, which I now have got as a present :) Hurray for friends!

Sunday

Brunch was on the Sunday after the big party afternoon/evening/night on Saturday. At 11.30. This is friggin early after having been out for three nights sleeping something about 5 hours a night (on the sofa I might add, since I gave my bed up for the guests). Well, when having guests flying in from all sorts of places you adjust your timetable (and your sleeping arrangement). So did. To agree with their itineraries.

We weren't that many to be honest. Only 7 of us. Most of the people left on Sunday, and also must admit I have a few amateur friends when it comes to partying :)...oh dear, I'll get punished here!

But it was very nice indeed. A bit of dissecting last night, laughing (I know, that early in the morning!), and agreeing we all had a good time. Not to mention we had a big brunch containing mostly the leftovers from last evening but also fresh bread, youghurt (the Slimline version with mango and passion fruit, a favourite!) and whatsit.

PS. Asked the people at the party if they would object to having their photos published on the blog. None did. At the time. Day after I got a sms saying "I don't want to see my face on the blog". OK, fair enough, but too late since your tits are already there ;)

The big party

So on Saturday we had the big party. Starting at three in the afternoon at my place with snacks (prepared by Putz-Peter, my private handyman) and of course lotsa drinks. I had beer, white wine, red wine, booze, prosecco and even water and icetea!

There were 16 of us, who mingled, talked, laughed and had a good time in general. I held a short presentation so that the people who hadn't met before got an introduction, using little anecdotes about each one.

Despite the fact that I had told people not to bring presents, guess what? They did. But I gotta hand it to them, they kept it to consumables. I really do not need more "thingies" than I already have. So thank you guys!

Then at about 19.30 we headed downtown to the restaurant I had reserved: http://www.dooyoo.de/bars-cafes-international/apfelkammer/ (unfortunately only in German) where we enjoyed the menu previously blogged about. Great food, great service!

At about 23.30 we were a really happy bunch, and quite a bit louder than at three in the afternoon :)...at which time we headed to my usual place for more drinks and some sweaty (!) dancing. It was absolutely fabulous to party with so many of my friends!

So friends and family, in five years we'll do it again ;)

Cleavage

For some reason some of the guests felt compelled to reveal more than at least I wanted to see :)

Teary-eyed

Last guests left this morning. I'm now feeling teary-eyed. It was so nice to have most of my friends here visiting over the weekend, and I feel a bit deflated being on my own again.

I miss not having my friends around me on convenient distances! Thanks to all of you who took the trouble of actually travelling from quite far to see me!

As you may imagine, there are lotsa things to say from the parties this weekend, and I promise I will blog about it, just give me some time...

The party has begun

Where shall I start? The first guest (which will turn out to be a 5-day party) arrived yesterday. Since it was his first time in Zürich I thought I'd give him the fast-track-course. Meaning we went to Oktoberfest (remember the previous blog?). Then we went on. And on. And on. Was in bed at three last night.

This afternoon my relatives arrived. Met them at the airport. Got home. Cooked - chicken of course :)...had some wine. Coordinated with the other people arriving today. Ended up being six of us having a drink in town. Then on to my usual place. Intended (really!) to be home early since I got about 4 hours sleep last night. You guessed right, didn't happen. Well, actually we did get home not too late but then ended up having another drink and now, here I am, blogging.

So, off to bed. Big day tomorrow. At three in the afternoon we start. And BTW there is no end to tomorrow evening...it'll just go on and on and on. G'night :)

160 years old

Told ya the two teachers we have had so far aren't the brainiest (new word!) I've come across. The temp one that we had for two days told us the following story:

There was this guy who got to be 160 years old (here I thought that my German was not good enough so I asked, did you really say 160? Yes, she said. I asked again, 1-6-0 and not 1-1-6 (sounds really alike in German) and she responded yes). Ok, I guess this is where I really started to doubt her ability.

She continued: He smoked 3 packs of cigs a day and still went on to be 160 years old. Yeah, right! However, I think the message that she wanted to get across was that attitude matters more than healthy living. And I can live with that, being a smoker.

PS. There are various data on the oldest person in the world. They go from 122-128 years old. To be honest, I don't think I wanna go down that road...

Pansexuality

You learn something new every day, ain't that the truth? Well, except for maybe this course I'm attending:) Anyway, the other day I was reading another blog and learned about pansexuality. Apparently this is a person who fucks women, men or sofas from IKEA. Anything goes really.

The last I heard was metrosexual, which I still really haven't grasped what it is.

Perhaps it's just all words? A way to say that we all have a sexuality, no matter what? Bet even the pope had a hard-on in his heydays!

Preparation mood

Still in preparation for the party. Last time I had this type of big party 5 years ago I was rhyming, writing little poems for each of the guests in order to introduce them to each other. And I did it in three different languages!

This time around I tried but failed miserably. There is no way to rhyme properly in German or be funny in German for that matter :)...I'm sure it has nothing to do with my limited vocabulary!

So I'm now writing down notes about all of my guests, in order to introduce them to each other. I plan to do it in three languages, but if I don't have to in German I'll be happy. Most of the people do not have German as mother tongue anyway (least of all the Swiss :).

For some reason this made me think of my brother, who once invented the phrase: "Sis, you speak so much but you say nothing". Do you really have to love your sibling :)?

Wash

One more thing before I have to go to the hair-dresser and fix myself up for the big weekend. What is wrong with you men? I politely asked my flatmate to hang the wash that I put in the machine this morning. And so he did. But how? Everything on top of each other, upside down, inside out. Why?

Another time I asked him if he ever irons his clothes. He doesn't. I asked why. He said he doesn't know how. What? More likely he doesn't want to learn. And let me tell you, he's not exactly young.

And despite his being married before, he still doesn't know how to put the lid down on the toilet...some things never change...because the men don't want them to change. Am I right or am I right?

Kick-off

So, tonight's kick-off for the big party weekend. First guest arrives in the evening. Thought we'll pop into the Booooschänzli again, if we can get in that is. Most tables are booked since a year, but they always keep around 200 seats available for people like me who have not been planning a year in advance :)

Tomorrow five more people will arrive, and three more on Saturday. The rest live here. There's lotsa logistics to keep track of, but I think I managed to inform them all in advance (not a year mind you).

SO look forward to this. Have taken Friday and Monday off. A 5-day party, just to my liking :)

Baby

OK, this is something you won't see very often (if ever again) on my blog, since I'm not the most child-friendly person in our family. This is a newborn relative of mine, and see how happy he is? Well, who wouldn't, being born into my family :) ??

Course

So this morning we thought that we'd get a new teacher and a bit of a moral boost. It was not to be. The old teacher showed up, saying she has now understood that we were not a happy crowd. That we can have "free activities" in the morning and take the afternoon off. Hello?

I think this institute has missed all its chances to make something out of this course. Isn't it amazing how stupid some people are?

So we are spending the morning dissecting the drama from last Tuesday :)...lotsa laughs this early in the morning!

Drama cont'd

So after all this hassle today, we decided that we needed a drink. To be honest it was already talked about yesterday, but really, after today it turned out that our prel plan was exactly what we needed. Told ya before, there is nothing like an outside "enemy" to bring a team together.

So in the afternoon off we went. To Boooooschänzli (see previously posted link...this is the Swiss pronunciation). Now, this is a beer tent. Basically. Meaning you drink. And drink. And drink. 1 liter glasses. And so forth. Eating? Yes, perhaps but it's not mandatory.

Can you guess the rest? Well at about six o'clock we were all standing on the wooden benches singing and clapping along to the music. It was still light outside, but none of us really cared by then :) Only, one of us fell (not me, ok?). Fortunately he was drunk enough so didn't really hurt himself. At this particular time one of the team-members decided it was a good idea to have a chat with the guards. Being a bit overwhelming and slightly aggressive (and pützeli drunk :) as he was, this was clearly not a good idea. Which we tried to tell him, to no avail.

So off the injured guy went, and with him (involuntarily) the "slightly-aggressive" guy. Left three of us. We stayed for a bit, but it was a kinda strange "fun" without the other two.

PS. Met up with the other two later, turned out they had not gone home as suggested. Yeah ok, did I really think they would?

Drama drama drama

OK, so finally the management of the course we're attending got the message. It only took'm three weeks to react (mind you, after seeing the manager yesterday I kinda understand why). Everybody in the course have complained, but they didn't budge until yesterday.

So, we finally got rid of the teacher. Not that it left a good feeling. There is always a story behind the person, and personally I do feel bad for her. But hey! If you are in charge, and you do not react in four weeks time, who's to blame really?

So we got a temp in for the last two days. She was better (anything would've been better really) but not good. The first day she was informed about "ze problem" and managed to mention taking over the class eleven times (we counted). Today she decided she didn't want to. Good. Since she wasn't very perceptive (think she had psycho-something in her education) we had to be extremely clear with our expectations. We were. So now we have tomorrow off, and then Thursday morning something will happen. Or so we hope :)

Mixed messages

I'm gonna kill a myth here. The fact that the Swiss supposedly speak high German (meaning not the dialect called Switzedutch that is spoken here and comes in many versions - compare previous blog item about Züridutch, Berndutch, Baseldutch etc). They don't. They just don't. And most of them admit it too.

They are really supposed to, since it still is the official language, but guess what? They don't care. I kinda like that about the Swiss though, being a bit obstinate. I had the same experience when I lived in Denmark. Think it has to do with the fact that the Swiss (mentally) live under the shadow of Germany. Germany has over 80 mill people, and Switzerland has a mere 7 (and a half if you wanna be picky, and the Swiss do).

Well, the point I'm trying to make is about the course I'm attending (more about that later) is in German. Or so I was told. The teacher after 4 weeks still hasn't got it. Every morning she starts in Switzedutch. Until I (well to be honest with you I've given up) say something like "sorry, I still haven't learned Switzedutch", or that my class mates (bless'm) say in a stern voice "hoch-deutsch bitte".

Here the funny people would say well, nobody ever accused the Swiss of being clever. Only thing is that the teacher is non-Swiss. And since I live here in Zürich, I'd like to add that I'm a great fan of the Swiss people. Most of the time :)

Tuesday in Zürich

http://www.bauschaenzli.ch/de/index.html

France-America-Scandinavia

Inspired by the previous blog (and for those of you who are easily offended...please stop reading here...ok, I know you won't so here goes). Had a date with a French friendgirl of mine some time ago. She brought another woman, an American. The French woman and I knew each other from German class, and I assumed that the American was her friend. As you do.

Turned out they only just met each other the same day. The American woman was a former girlfriend of the current boyfriend of the French woman. She was just passing through Switzerland and had called her ex to ask if she could stay with him for a few nights. She could. But it was kinda a strange setting. Only these days anything is possible, right?

Anyway, the funny was that we got to talk about men...ok, maybe not funny, kinda predictable. So we talked about how men look naked. None of us thought it was an appealing view. I heard about this "hanging thing", so I said to the American woman that I have never seen a man in that condition so what was the problem? Not sure she got it, but she did the polite thing and laughed :)

Bad joke

You know the type of jokes you get on sms. I got one in German. Will make an attempt to translate. Gotta warn you though, it's not that funny. But here goes (and I'm in blogging mood :):

Peter, your zipper is open. It doesn't matter, it's an experiment. Last week I left my shirt open and got a stiff neck.

Hmmm, my sense of humour is perhaps different. I kinda like something that's funny :)

Inspiration

So, since I stayed in both Friday and Saturday (what is WRONG with me?) I figured I had to go out and see some people. Flatmate thought I was funny, since I could see him, but hey, I meant different people. And once you did meatballs with somebody it's kinda over :)

And there I went. To my usual place (where else?). And even though the music was crap, it was kinda funny. For a Sunday I have to say it was a lot of people. Almost full. First I wrote down an anecdote about all my visitors next week. Yes, I get inspired by being around people, music and yes ok, I had some wine :)

Then this woman next to me started to talk. Turned out she was from Graubünden. This is so strange, once you start talking about something/somebody/someplace it keeps on popping up. Well, at least this one spoke sorta proper German. It was actually fun. And I like the fact that I can communicate with all sorts of people. She was born 1939. Which is in case you wondered long-long-long before I was even a twinkle in my parents eyes :)

Wankdorf

Honestly stolen from a blog acquaintance (ok, the one I want to have the blogname from...you figure it out). Only funny to English readers :)

Chur

Chur is a city in Switzerland. In Graubünden. The place I have been told they shoot first and ask questions later. Just now watching a tv recording from there. Looked it up on the net. For the 10th year they have a schlager-parade. A bit like the streetparade in Zürich, or any other big party. Only to me it sounds a lot like Oktoberfest-music. Very funny, I'm sitting here swinging my butt on the chair :)

http://www.schlagerparade.ch/web/indexflash.php

Stats - countries

Every time I look at my stats the pictures changes (yes, ok don't go all anal on me here, I know stats change with time but can somebody please tell me what period the stats show?).

Anyway, am particularly impressed about having visitors from these countries: Unknown (where is this?), Brunei Darussalam (didn't know the correct country name here, thought it was Brunei only - isn't that the country with the sultan who rules the country as a dictator and has lotsa and lotsa money?) and Uruguay (far far away in South America if I'm not mistaken).

Jutland

Jutland is one of the islands comprising Denmark. A driver there was stopped for severe speeding (156 km/h). His explanation? I need to get home before the fast-food I just bought gets cold. Possibly the worst explanation ever. And rightly so, the police took his driving license and gave him a penalty to pay.

How stupid can a person be?

Gesundheit

This means bless you, or really health. So when you sneeze this is the word. Only, you cannot even cough in this country without everybody around you have to say "Gesundheit!"

Have observed this on numerous occasions, and it really has begun to annoy me. When you attend a meeting or similar, and somebody sneezes, everything stops until everybody else has said the word. I mean really. It's of course nice to wish good health or bless you, but it's kinda late when you do it after the sneeze. Mind you, it would be difficult to do it before I guess.

It's just that it's only a word. Nobody actually means anything by it. Like the English say "how are you?", not expecting an answer. Have you ever tried telling an Englishman your medical history after the "how are you?" question? It's funny I tell you :) "You know, well today I feel better, but yesterday was really bad. Had this cold and and and...". That'll throw them off :)

And what worse is, you're supposed to say Danke (thank you) after all the Gesundheits! Imagine how funny it is when somebody has a sneezing fit :) and cannot stop. Lotsa Gesundheits and Dankes flying around (together with the germs I imagine).

SBB Swiss version

Got an sms from a friend of mine re SBB (Scandinavian-Blond-Blueeyed), telling me about the interpretation for a Swiss man:

Schweizer - Braune haare - Braune flecken in der Unterhose :)

I will not translate this one!

Cat watch

Am going to look after three cats for a weekend in two weeks time. Went there today to get the key, being instructed about food, pee and poo procedures and of course to get acquainted with the cats.

Turns out they were just like people. One was very friendly and liked to be cuddled. Another one was a bit cautious but finally allowed a quick stroke. The last ran and hid under the bed, not to be seen again. Whoever said cats don't have personality?

Nationalities

There will be a few nationalities at my party. All in all right now it seems like we're going to be 18 people incl myself. One of them has not confirmed though, which is a bit of a worry since I've done the seating. Ah well, I can improvise if I have to.

There will be people from Switzerland (ha, surprised you there, didn't I?), Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Australia (ok, this one lives in CH), Germany and the US.

Between us we'll speak a few languages...will be an evening of my liking. Diversity, absolutely!

Prosecco

Sorry for having been quiet for a few days. Did not go out Friday or Saturday, for the first time in a long time I had a quiet weekend. Why? Just didn't feel like going out. And had lots to prepare for next weekend.

Yesterday was shopping day. Flatmate and I went to buy drinks for party. Twice. Both times we had as much as we could possibly carry. White wine, red wine, mineral water, beer and Prosecco. Let me tell you, it was heavy.

Coupla hours later I realized I couldn't find the Prosecco. Not on the balcony, not in the kitchen, not under any of the beds (why it would be there I don't know, but since flatmate helped with unpacking...I thought I'd check). Oh dear. Turns out we forgot to pack this box in the shop. So had to go back for the third time, and voila! There it was, behind the cash counter. Showed my receipt, and they remembered me so got it back. Phew!

So drinkwise we are set to go. Food for the afternoon will be fixed by my personal caterer, except for the meatballs which we'll make later today. In the evening there'll be the menu previously blogged about. In a restaurant of course. I cannot house so many people in my flat. Not if I want them all to sit down. Which I do.

Hurray, I cannot wait to see you all next weekend! This'll be so much fun!

World clock

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html

Wild men?

Ok, so am going out tonight. Friggin tired of this shit-course, and need something to take my mind off it. Like getting shit-faced (probably influenced by previous shit-blog :).

Anyway, going to a place I have never been before. A new bar. New possibilities :) And got the description of how to get there. First go there with train, then take the bus, the stop being called something like "wild men". Should be fairly easy to remember...just hope there will be some there :)

They have funny village names here in Switzerland. Try this: Frauenfeld (which I interpret to be a field of women) or Männedorf (which sounds like a village full of men...hmmm...maybe it's time to move?).

So hope it'll be fun. Heard a rumour about some music too...

Baby pink

As you know I went shopping with a friendgirl the other week. She made me buy this baby pink shirt/top. I felt a bit stupid when agreeing to it, but gotta say after wearing it today, I feel kinda in. Lotsa youngsters have this colour this season. Ok, so I feel a bit "wanna-be-young-again" but since I don't really it's ok.

Just don't think it's my colour really, but I'll go along with it. And perhaps it'll look nice with black pants and a black jacket. Kinda a mix between girl and biz woman. Could that be me?

YouTube

Am a sucker for success stories like this. Two 28-year-youngs started in a garage (mental note: must buy a garage. I may be rich :)...hang on, I live on top of one, does that count?) less than two years ago. Now they just sold YouTube to Google for a fantasy sum of something well over 1 bn EUR. For something they were irritated over. That they couldn't share photos and video-clips with each other easily.

And guess what? They say it's fantastic to have the resources to develop the technique further, meaning they are not gonna stop working. Hmmm. Well, maybe if I was 28 I would think the same...I just cannot remember :)

http://www.youtube.com/

SBB

Normally this would refer to the Swiss railways (Schw. b-somethingsomething). Any Swiss reader are welcome to give me the right interpretation, and no doubt you will, being Swiss :)

So I was a bit surprised to be referred to being SBB the other day. Lots of thoughts went through my head. I'm speedy. I'm on time. I meet lotsa people. That type of thing.

But they meant something else. Scandinavian-Blond-Blueeyed. OK, can live with that. Until my so called friends were taking it further. Think they got to Scandinavian-Blond-Blöd (Blöd=stupid). HAHA! Not! But gotta admit there are bimbos in Scandinavia too. Then I put a stop to it. There is only so much a SBB can take :)

Mobile/sms

Strange phenomenon. For one like me who grew up in the time where there were no such things, I have taken to this type of communication like a fish to water. Had my first mobile phone back in 1996. Late I know, but couldn't afford it back then so had to wait until I got a company mobile.

Got my first sms the same year. Didn't know what it was. Oh, those were the naive times.

Reason I got to think about it, is when you feel like communicating with people (and believe me, there are times when I not) they never answer immediately. Well, some of them do but not the ones you want :)

But I guess it's the point of this type of communication. Being available when YOU want to, not necessarily when I want to...

Serious

I am about to get serious, oh dear. Got a present today, a book named "Power in the Global Age". By a glance it looks very interesting, but it'll take usage of brain to read it. And there are no pictures in it :)

Seriously, I do look forward to read such literature. A bit of a change from novels.

Thanks for the present!

The Most Functional English Word

Well, it's shit ... that's right, shit!
Shit may just be the most functional word in the English language.

Consider:
You can get shit-faced, Be shit-out-of-luck, Or have shit for brains.

With a little effort, you can get your shit together, find a place for your shit, or be asked to shit or get off the pot.

You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell ! shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit.
Some people know their shit, while others can't tell the difference between shit and shineola.

There are lucky shits, dumb shits, and crazy shits. There is bull shit, horse shit, and chicken shit.

You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, shoot the shit, or duck when the shit hits the fan.

You can give a shit or serve shit on a shingle.

You can find yourself in deep shit or be happier than a pig in shit.

Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty.

Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, and there! are times when you feel like shit.

You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit.

You can carry shit, have a mountain of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.

Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you fall in a bucket of shit and come out smelling like a rose.

When you stop to consider all the facts, it's the basic building block of the English language.

And remember, once you know your shit, you don't need to know anything else!!

You could pass this along, if you give a shit; or not do so if you don't give a shit!

Well, Shit, it's time for me to go. Just wanted you to know that I do give a shit and hope you had a nice day, without a bunch of shit. But, if you happened to catch a load of shit from some shit-head...........
Well, Shit Happens!!!

Space invaders

Having mentioned earlier about gay guys who "invade" your space. The "worst" I have come across are the Dutch. Think it has to do with the space allocated to each person. Where I come from it's lotsa space. Huge forests, fields, in general open areas. In Holland not. They are 20M+ people in a fly-shit-on-a-map type of country.

When walking on the pavement (sidewalk for the Americans :) for example they walk very close to you. I wasn't used to that, coming from another country. I kept on steering away, which only meant they moved with me, and not away. Sometimes we'd end up on the street.

Again, it took some getting used to. But I kinda like it. It's personal. It's "invading". It's cute. It's friends. It's a good thing.

Perhaps it's gotta do with if you're close, you cannot fight. Who wants to fight with a friend? Or somebody who've been close to? Perhaps North Korea should try it?

Gay life II

Another milestone - 4,000!

VISITS

Total 4,000
Average Per Day 18
Average Visit Length 4:10
Last Hour 0
Today 25
This Week 127

PAGE VIEWS

Total 6,802
Average Per Day 30
Average Per Visit 1.6
Last Hour 0
Today 39
This Week 208

Medal

Not sure what the expression is in English, but in German (translated) they say that every medal has two sides. It's a cliché, but therefore true.

Like this course I'm attending. It is so not interesting. But the up-side is that the class-mates are. And without going to this course I'd never have met them. Always look on the bright side of life...(life of Brian, remember?).

Like today. We were bored out of our skulls after listening to somebody who presented an uninteresting topic for 1,5 hours (when he was supposed to do it in half an hour!). So we just had to go for a beer to dissect this person. One of these people makes wonders for team-building. At least for the rest of us :).

Anyway, it just went downhill after that. Ended up in my place, having a drink or two. Or three. Not sure anymore :) Solving the world's problems, or at least our "problems". Good fun.

Got me thinking about communication. I voluntarily went with two Swiss men, none of them speak any English whatsoever (hang on, it's not true, when one of them had a few beers he turned out to be pretty good in English). The other guy I normally go to lunch with. He doesn't speak any English, but I can communicate better with him than any other person in class. Which goes to show that language is not the issue.

Willingness to communicate...cannot be measured. It's all in life. Without it, you might as well go home, go to bed and stay there :)

Gay life

I recently had the opportunity to study a group of gay guys. With the risk of being accused of being prejudicial (I am not!) I made a few observations.

Gay guys seem to come in two categories of hair-style. Either shaved head, preferrably with some facial hair like a carefully groomed moustache, or with hair that stands straight up with a generous helping of wax.

Most gay people seem to take a great interest in fashion. Not that I would know, having no interest whatsoever in this area, but have been told that he wears this and he wears that, shoes equally important as the rest. Some more flamboyant than others :)

Touchy-feely is another quality that gay people possess. Never afraid of touching, never afraid of "invading" your space. Takes a little bit getting used to I tell you, but kinda like it now.

Sense for design is a common trait. Thoughtfully furnished apartments or houses, always very neat and clean. Much cleaner than my flat no doubt. Many gays also have house-wifey tendencies, and their kitchens are often in meticulous order.

Not to mention they are fun to be with. Experts on small-talk and interesting conversations. I like you guys! Or should I say gays :)

Signed,
The fag-hag

Food

You ever had that feeling that you won't eat another bite in your life? I have it now. Two parties two days in a row, and both of them with lotsa and lotsa food. Nibbles, chips, sandwiches, olives, you name it, it was there. And then pasta and meat-sauce. And then cakes and and and. I am stuffed.

It was good fun though, so worth a day of digesting all the food. More to tell about todays party, but I'll keep you in suspense for a while longer. Must catch up on sleep.

Casa bar

Ended up in Casa bar tonight, after the birthday party. Which indeed was very nice. Birthday party i.e. Lotsa food, lotsa drinks, lotsa nice people. I especially appreciated the ones that spoke English :)...or at least high German. Felt a tad left out when the Switzedutch people were going at it. But there you go. I'm the foreigner. Learning to eat shit is my game :)

So back to Casa bar. This is the place downtown Zürich which always has live music. Mostly jazz-inspired. Which I can live with if it's jazz-blues, jazz-rock or similar. What I have problems with is the jazz-jazz. Not to mention the fact that one beer (not even a pint) is CHF 13,50. Mind you, they do advertise outside that there is no entrance fee. Wish they had. And normal drink prices once you get in there.

Guess it's my own fault for going back there. Next time I'll find somebody who'll pay :)

Italians

So I leave you guys alone for 2 minutes...ok maybe a bit more but still. Don't you have a loyal bone in your body :) ? OK, so just complaining a bit about lack of visitors. Now I'm over it.

Over to today's topic. Italians. You heard the joke. You chop off the hands of an Italian and he/she cannot speak. It is actually true. Have done empirical studies on this issue. Try it yourself. The next Italian you meet, you ask her/him to sit on their hands, and then speak. They just cannot do it. Funny.

Had the experience when I was still living in Scandinavia. Went on holiday to Italy. Came back with a more expressive body language. It took about a week or so to go back to "normal". Meaning no body language whatsoever. How sad is that?

Luzern & body language

Got a new visitor from Luzern. Welcome to my blog. Now when I know the correct location of where I am (hmmm, I still get lost often), I can figure out from where you come.

Reminds me of a conversation about body language. A friend of mine had this book which was very funny. And very true at that. They say that only 7% of what you actually say is received by the other person. Something like 70% of body language (there are various studies and opinions in this matter) is what you perceive. Tone of voice is also quite important.

I am a "feeling-type-of-person" who do believe in this. Will get the title of the book and post it later. I had a quick look, and laughed out loud. Extremely funny, but as said true at the same time. Ah gosh, if we only knew what we project!

Lat and long

Found it! Obviously I could be bothered :)...told ya, bean-counter at heart!

Zurich 47.22N 8.32E

http://www.mapsofworld.com/lat_long/switzerland-lat-long.html

Latitude and longitude

Discovered today that you can track the distance of your visitors, meaning how far away you guys are. But first I had to tell blogger where I live (thought it was kinda clear since I stated Zürich, but you know computers, they are dumb). So when I clicked on distance it told me to do whatever. Meaning I had to click on a world map where I am, which wasn't so easy. I mean a world map on a small screen you may end up clicking by accident on Italy or Germany, it was that small.

There was however another option. You could state the lat and long on where you are. And here's the question, do you know the lat and long where you live? I don't. Have no clue to be honest. But managed by clicking a few times to get in the neighbourhood.

But being a kinda bean-counter by heart I suppose I have to google it. When I can be bothered :)

Flattering

So ended up in my usual place tonight. Well, it's Friday (at least it was) and when you're young and beautiful you cannot sit at home, right? Hmmm, guess a few comments are coming right up.

Anyway, when this youngster who approached me heard that I am Scandinavian he was all over me. Big grin on his wrinkle-free face :)...ah, wow, Scandinavia he kept on repeating. And then he proceeded to me tell me how much he like it there, the beautiful women and how well everything is organized. I believe he had spent one (say one!) holiday there.

But he had a big large redeeming quality. He thought I was 32! And apparently it was a big thing that I guessed his age to be 21, when he in fact was 23! According to him the turning point was when he was 22, then age didn't matter anymore. What a cute puppy :)

PS. I politely declined to go for a drink with him and his buddy...even I have limits. Apparently :)

Ohne dich

...kann ich nicht leben. Means Without you I cannot live. Or in proper English: I cannot live without you. Oh dear. Not exactly a new song text.

Was written by a guy for a friendgirl of mine. Guess she should be flattered and think she is. But still, couldn't he have come up with something more original :) ?

But I think he's kinda sweet, since he bought a present for me for being the link between them. Presents are always welcome. And I should open a dating agency and charge properly for my services :)

Blog-stalker

That's me. Apparently. Didn't realize that by putting a comment on somebody else's blog would render me this nick-name. Hmmm. Better do it anonymously next time :)

Busy weekend ahead

You know the feeling some weekends when you have nothing planned, and other weekends activities are just piling up? Tomorrow is shopping day again. Need to change some of the stuff bought last week. Then drinks with a friend. Saturday birthday party, and Sunday another party. Sunday is a weird day of having a party, but guess it's more a get-together, since it starts already at 17 in the afternoon.

It's the Sunday party that's in need of meatballs. Saturday party gift is easier, wine and chocolate :) Three of my favourites!

Kitchen duty

Today is busy-busy-busy in the kitchen. First making a güggeli again, must have chicken at least once a week. Then prepare a chocolate cake. Good to have if there are unexpected guests. Will put most of it in the freezer, otherwise I know there won't be much left. Two cookie monsters are living here!

Then there has been (another :) request for meatballs. Which I do if I may say so myself, pretty good. Yum! So, that's what's on the agenda for this evening.

Am I turning into a housewife type? Oh dear, I hope not.

Oktoberfest - follow-up

And this is what men are wearing during the Oktoberfest (which now is over, since it's held in September!).

Wine tasting

Just a quickie to show you I'm alive. Been to dinner tonight. A friend of mine cooked fantastic as usual. Got home pretty early. But the problem was that I had to do some wine-tasting. For my party coming up later this month. The things you do for your friends :)

So opened three different bottles of red, numbered them 1, 2 and 3 (gee, that's original!). Then numbered the glasses, and there we went. Actually, we're still at it. My choice was 1, 3, 2. Flatmates choice was 1, 2, 3. So I think we agreed on No 1. Which happened to be a Shiraz. Always been a favourite of mine. But the No 4, that we had for dinner wasn't bad either. A Chianti Classico. Hmmm. Have to think about it. Perhaps I need another wine tasting session :) ?

Men and porno

What is this with men and porno? Not that they use it, I don't mind really. Why would I mind? It's not a bad thing. But that they always feel compelled to hide it. Today for example, my flatmate was storing something under the guest bed, and guess what? He found two porn magazines. From the month of May.

And if you're a reader of my blog you know who stayed here then. Yes, lover boy is making a come-back. If not in person, so in mind. Hmmm. Good thing he left! (And I'm gonna have a serious talk with putz-Peter, who hasn't cleaned properly!).

So when flatmate offered them to me (by shoving them in my face...gee, thank you so much) I politely declined with the excuse that "it's no men anyway". At which time he showed me I was wrong. Oh thanks mate. A large penis standing-up. On a picture. Nah, think I prefer it live :)

Comments

Scaredy-cat as I am (!) I have not yet upgraded to the next version of this blogger-thingie. My experience with upgrading is not great. Usually something disappears. Like the crucial little DAT-file (1KB) or similar, which eventually turns out to be the only file you need (together with the gazillions of other automatically installed ones (200MB)) to actually run the system.

Anyway, the message I was trying to give is that when you guys comment on my blog I cannot automatically see which item they belong to, which is why you are nice enough to write the headline on the comments. But the thing is that other readers won't see your comments, because since you already read the items you won't go back. Makes sense, right? Just a pity, since some of your comments are really funny, and I almost always answer them.

Just hoping that when I finally upgrade to the next version (which probably will be when I'll be forced to :), I hope this functionality has been worked on.

Just FYI.

Nobel prize

The Nobel prize winners have just been announced. When I read about the winners in Physics I realized that this isn't really my topic. This is the description: "for their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation".

What is a blackbody? Somebody clad in black? Anisotropy? Not even Cambridge dictionary contains this word. Hmmm...better stick to what I know about...like men! But wait, sometimes I don't understand them either. Now I managed to even confuse myself :)

http://nobelprize.org/

Apple

Apple Computer reported today that it has developed computer chips that can store and play music inside women's breasts. This is considered to be a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

HAHAHA!

Irritated

I am very irritated with some of my visitors. Since I learned that I can see the stats of the visitors (not your names or email addresses mind you) but the visiting time and that. I am extremely irritated of you guys who spend 0:00 time on my blog. Why click in the first place?

Mind you, none of the 0:00 clickers will ever spend enough time to answer, will they? So why do I bother? Hmmm, have to think about that one :)

15 minutes of fame

Are there more people than me who are tired of listening to the tear-dripping-story of Natascha? This Austrian woman who was kidnapped 10 years ago type and now is earning gazillions of money for her story. Is there nobody out there who thinks this stinks a bit? But of course Hollywood has already signed up for the film!

Yes of course if the story is true (what is truth anyway?) it is sad. But trying to identify I don't think my first thought would have been to earn money (at least I hope not!). Her advisors? Yes of course. But still, the decision is hers.

If, and I say if, her story is true, I wish her all the best in trying to cope with the past. And yes, there is nothing wrong with making a buck now and then, but I seriously think, based on what I read, that she needs some people around her who care about her and not the money!

Personality

I'm telling ya'. Not news exactly, but people are different. I for one have no trouble doing absolutely nothing a whole day. And doing this nothing alone. No probs whatsoever. My flatmate on the other hand, cannot. I was away over the weekend, having "things" (or in Swiss German "gungel") to attend to. He was at the same time going bananas. Since he cannot walk (turns out he not only has a twisted achilles heel but three bones broken in his foot...why he didn't tend to it earlier?...well, you know why if you follow the blog...he's not "the type"), he was more or less forced to stay at home. Not that he did. He took a walk (hello?).

Anyway, when I finally got home he couldn't stop talking, and was in dire need of something to do. So since I had to make meatballs he assisted me with the onions, the rolling and the frying.

Guess contents are that diversity is good...at least I got some help :)

Dinner

Been gone for a while. Did ya miss me? Course you did :)

So, to give you a little taste of what I've done, here's the menu I was served yesterday:

Starter: lettuce, avocado, bread crumbs, parma ham, shrimps, parmesan, dressing. Absolutely f...ing delish! With that, a nice cool white wine.

Main: cordon-bleu two sorts. One with "normal" ham and emmentaler, one with parma ham and gorgonzola. Mmmmm! Served with potatoes in the oven, carrots and a mushroom sauce. Stomach big! And served with a fantastic Barolo. It was so good, it was almost over the top.

Dessert: chocolate in various forms. I couldn't stop eating.

And despite that the guy had changed the sheets in the bed that very same day, I wasn't up to it...too much fantastic food :)...so guys, next time to try to seduce a woman, try a less heavy meal...or cook something you know she doesn't like (which may, I might add, backfire) but still ;)

PS. The shrimps on the salad were laid out in the pattern of a heart. Is that sweet or what?