Peace

You guys,

Sam has been complaining about feeling dusty, so he is off soonissimoduty and about to have a great bath :)

First of all, after a lot of bureaucracy and some corresponding valid (maybe unusual but still valid) decisions I finally got some stuff done that had been bugging and upsetting me for weeks. Hopefully my streak of kicking some serious bum now continues, for details please come back to me, this is nothing for the public :)

While I am writing this, the soft sunlight lurks in, tomorrow peace is here.

For the moment, Happy Vacation Days and I hope I will be able to post smth before New Year´s Eve, ok?

Besitos,
B

wow

This is Sam,

and I know we haven´t been writing in some time. We like to blame some stressy things not be mentioned here, all the great company, a lot of impressions, music, a banana bang in Köln main station, far to many dressing cabins, a literally cool picture on the Christmas Market in Mannheim, amazingness and so on and so forth.

But at the same time, moments of peace and finally some work on the future.

Will you more later on.

A big hug to all of you!
Sam

say a little prayer....

Today is a difficult day.

Throughout the last few days, friends and me had a lot of fun. One of the stories starts with underwear. I am not sure if all of you are familiar with the Underwear/nightgown-store story but I will start with this one. Once upon a time in Spain, in a chain-store of the aforementioned, a friend of mine and me had opposite cabins for trying things and would open them after having counted to three in order to see what looks best on us. It was so much fun, I think we spent two hours there (this coming from me who hates shopping altogether). Anyway, a similar story happened on Monday and yesterday. I cannot divulge too many details but a friend of mine needed advice, so we would open a forum and discuss stuff until late in the night. Spain was involved too. And we were giggling about it a lot.

Also, a project of mine needs a lot of attention right now so that one went well too.

And after all this all of a sudden you realize that a friend of yours is in big trouble because she lost someone substantial and recovering will be so difficult.... I am so sorry, and words are so limiting on a day like this.

All I have left for the moment are little prayers, the hope for better times to come for those in pain, and a big hug that cannot be given soon enough.

focus

You guys,

Life seems to be so contradictory sometimes and all of a sudden everything seems to be crystal clear. I will try to explain. as I discussed with a friend, it sometimes seems like I am watching three moovies at the same time, getting the general idea but not really focussing on either of them with the attention they deserve. The result: knots in the attention span and confusion.

So, nothing more and nothing less than great partying this week was necessary in order to put things into their place. Today, whilst working on some stuff at home I felt like I wasn´t missing out on anything and focussing on the task at hand felt easy, even though it was not the most pleasant task in the world.

Sam is doing fine and is happy that Harry (the violet elch with a warming bottle in the belly) called from Hannover today saying he is having a blast, Plonja enjoyed his temperatures, the kids played with him and he is in Hannover for the first time. Also, our friends are trying to find the fotos of Sam´s stunts in Monika´s Kung-Fu classes taken last year, he is looking forward to posting them here.

From my side, life is simply good. It still feels a little bohemian which is calming and soothing.

A big hug to all of you,
B

sleepless in Köln

Dear all,

This is Sam. While B is working because she is hung-over (?), and I am sitting in front of Tangerine in order to keep you up-to-date.

First of all, there was a party in our house on Saturday and if laughter and smiles are indicators, people were enjoying the company, somebody was bringing up a pig´s flu and celebrating it, I did not now we knew sick pigs? There was something B calls bohemian about it: a piano session in the middle of the night, a lot of food, smoking in the dormitory, a lot of beer, wine, the muppet show, a lot of music, the talk about a restaurant owned by somebody called Alice whom I don´t know...

...the dishwasher running in the morning and B can´t remember having put it on. From my studying and observation point on Emilia, humans are strange and prone to celebrate anything. Accept hang-overs, when it is too cold outside and a broken internet connection.

Apart from the party, there are a few things to discover: B will be travelling a lot and there is talk about some splendid outlooks. As I told you, my world is pretty much about entertaining my pet friends, Emilia and the birds flying back and forth outside, while human affairs seem to exceed concerns about knots in my fur or the fact that I urgently need a bath in order to keep my fur shining.

We should have a rest now, and so should all of you, we are keeping paws and fingers crossed, may the good spirits be with us. And please join us soonissimo for the next party, it was an honour having you.

A big fluffy hug,
Sam

Sam´s corner

Dear all,

this is Sam!

I have to admit that I have been far too quiet for the time being, the trust is that I am busy trying to follow up on all the stuff that is happening here!

This weekend was amazing! Dear friends from Paris came over and B and them were unbelievably lucky: the sun was shining, Bonn and Köln presented themselves in the best light and they enjoyed each others company so much! In the afternoon, she met with another friend and we went home in time before midnight, working life seems to take its toll sometimes....

Today, another lucky day: SUN, and Bs colleague from Northern Germany met in our home town Köln to wander around and enjoy the day.

B told me today were selections and is happy that the highest woman in Germany is counselor again for further 4 years (I am not sure if it is the right word, where is my dictionary).

Also, we both became fans of the updated Jesus!



I have a lot more stuff to tell but it might fall under peluche-owner privileges, so we will have to take the information stream up elsewhere :)

Have a great week.
A big, furry and fluffy hug,
B

dear chiquis

Dear all!

I did not forget about you, soonissimo, life, happiness and fun. All to the contrary. The more stuff is opening up, and please apologise the hint without the explanation, the more things seem to be smoothing out.

During the last weeks, life has been majorly treating me well, let´s start chronically:

The week with Bea, her daughter and husband was AMAZING. Yes, they will beg to differ again, but it was so! For starters, Greta is so sweet (von wem hat sie das wohl :) )! Then, spending some quality time with Bea and Christian was great, we have known each other for so long and catching up is so much easier stretching on the grass and watching the bambooplant grow, isn´t it? Berlin, the ever changing town feels more alive and ever. While I am writing this, a few images of “my” Berlin cross my mind and it seems to me a series of growth, colour, change and character. Does anybody out there know a city that gives you that vibe?

We went out to the cinema, amazing nature and went on bikes. And the image and sound of Greta cheering her father to go faster on the bike is quite likely to stick with me forever. Besitos to all of you, and thank you so much for having me in your life, I am more than happy to come back soon asap.

When I came back, Rob was greeting me at home, it was so sweet! She had cooked, felt at home in the apartment that is also her home and I am keeping fingers crossed for what is coming. You will manage!

The second week of my holiday was amazing, too. I wasn´t too delighted about the craftsmen shattering walls and in the apartment below which at some point felt like a small earthquake announced major dimensions. But that enabled me to be out, enjoy the sun, watching people in the street and not thinking about anything but the blue sky, greeting nice people, dogs and children. Simply peace. Big holiday finale with a friend, long talks and lots of fun for hours.

Sam is doing fine.

I have a lot more to tell you guys, but I think I can sum things up by praying that live continues treating us well.
Right now, from my perspective, it does.

A big hug to all of you, besitos und bis bald,
B

Sunday to Monday

Dear all,

any suggestion on how get rid of sleeplessness from Sunday to Monday? Hhm, maybe I should invite sleeplessness over to the living room and join the Martini session I will prepare in two minutes?

That´s a good idea.

Hugs to all of you and happy to see you soon, 3Bs!

Besooos,
b

Stardust

Stéphane Grappelli´s piece stardust fell into my hands. It is the perfect sound for today.
click here -> STARDUST

It is close to midnight, people are getting ready for some relaxing and fun. An extremely stressy week went by, I am happy having lived it, happy it´s over and looking for some peace. I realize that my life is under stress lasting more than one day when some or all of the following occurs: jeans might finish drying on me because they haven´t totally finished drying on the drying thingie, pulling the noodles from the hot-plate too early because I am famished (mostly in the evening), always being late to things (I almost forgot that I had demanded scrap for Wednesday to be retrieved from my house, so boy, what a hurry). Abuse of chocolate, mate tea and delusional substances like wafles from the vending machine in the cantina, they are unbelievably good, shoot directly into the brain and make me feel sleepy but they are definitely worth the taste. And puffed rice with a chocolate-cocos topping in abundance :)

You should see Sam, he is fine, enjoying the new walls, maybe wondering why the ceiling in the living-room looks strange, furniture still standing around in weird angles and the amount of laundry doesn´t decrease. And giggling about his clumsy flat-mate who is wandering around in the appartment at 05.30 every morning, trying to lighten up and avoiding getting bruised from bumping into something with sharp edges, dropping something fragile or tripping over her own two feet, you all know what we are talking about :)

From time to time Sam and I are exercising in the evening which is quite unfair, Sam is so bendy and when it comes to Pilates, he always wins. Running is not on the schedule yet, but for funsies I will give him some headstart, ha ha ha.
Got nothing more to tell and I am falling asleep with my eyes open!

A big hug to all of you out there and hope to see you soonissimo.
B

way too much time :)

Hi there,

these days I am really amazed about being at home around 6 pm already. I will spare you the details, but due to a new responsibility at work, my day starts at 6 in the morning and I am really amazed how cool it is to have some time of the evening in peace.

Right now, a neighbour is rehearsing for a classical piece I don´t remember the name of on her violin, so the windows are open wide. Once a week they have a chamber orchestra trying out pieces and it is so nice! Which brings to something I read the other day during one of those concert. Please don´t think I am crazy, in despair, whatever... It´s simply one of the 7 habits somebody expressed for highly efficient people (or in my case: for those who want to become that :) )

They said something to the extend of: when it comes to small and big plans, relax and take your time and try to begin with the end of that in mind. Which is of course a little bit difficult when it comes to life, but the question is huge and figure I will be pondering about that for a while: Who do we want be when we look back? The other way round, it sounds much easier, but it´s not the same thing.

I hope I am not overloading here, soonissimo is supposed to be fun and this question is that, too, to a certain extend.

Huggs, dear friends, and the care in the world :)

B

oh boy

see the expression on my jumping elchs face in my living room?


That´s how I basically felt for three days in a row now, I have been taping, painting, cleaning, stretching muscles I didn´t know I have and here it goes:

living room

with a new blue paint. Far darker than expected, the lady in the shop wasn´t really concentrated when she sold me the mixture, but I think it´s fine. Where you see the watch, there is now another painting in the exact colours of the blue wall. The corridor and kitchen got a treat too in plain white, and I am amazed about the difference. One thing is not done yet, the ceilings are too high (3,5 m?), more than I could handle, so I will have to ask the male population about this part :)

Shall my tortured legs and further feel in peace soon (I even treated this with baths and Pilates, and yet...)

At the same time, following feng-shui getting-rid-of-too-much-stuff-principles, again a lot of stuff made acquantance with the dustbin, it feels so much better in here now!

Love you guys.
B

Brahms op 79

This piece is killing me, click on the following:Hélène Grimaud playing my favourite piano piece EVER.

Every time again and again. The pianist interpreting it said once something about Brahms´ compositions, being impulsive and seemingly improvised and at the same mathematical. Add Hélène to it interpreting it.

It reminds me of a long walk in a park in Hannover, I had it in my mp3-player. Try it. Go out into a park, put it on, put your head back as far as possible and gaze into the sky.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I have to tell you guys, life is getting really good here, getting life back and happiness. Friends in my house all the time. Tired as hell from all the brainy work but I am getting into the stuff I was so scared of and now that I lost the respect for it, things start to work out so smoothly. Of course, in between things suck, every working person knows that, but I am making my peace with it.

next week I will be on vacation and I hope to break my anxiety with Emilia, I haven´t done anything new for quite a while now and now I am getting back in the mood. Extremely slow, but who cares, I am having fun doing it :)

Sam greets all of you, we are wondering we will see of of you great spirits. A big hug, and lots of fun to all of you out there.
B
Hélène Grimaud playing my favourite piano piece EVER

life is good, isn´t it?

After two days of entertaining myself with books outside, I am starting to look like a Birgit-shaped piece of chocolate (it is very sunny and I get easily tanned).

Loved the walk with a friend today.
Shall anybody feel like coming to a latina-party, I would to welcome you in Köln on Saturday. Will try not to make it too late this time ;)

Hope all is well with you guys.

Miss you.
B

Gracias a la vida

In the spirit of soonissimo, my life is taking place right now and here.

Yes, there is a big economic depression tangible everywhere around us. And eventually, there is stuff to take care of.

But today I remembered having seen Mercedes Sosa in Bonn in a concert. This grand woman, and that unbelievable spirit.
And i am remembered of all the joy and life that is ahead of all us. That our paths will cross with so many people, believes, and other things one might feel like recognizing in that moment. And with each other.

One of you just gave life to a baby girl named Ella. And we have some slightly older miracles who are learning to speak, walk whatever. A big virtual hug here and CONGRATULATIONS to all of you again;!!!!!!!!!!!

Here in Köln, a lot of stuff is happening. I am not going into the direction of having kids. But remembering what a friend once said feels really true and precious to me right now: "Anda, lánzate, go and grab your life." I think that is what is happening right now. Some amazing stuff to come, other things probably not that good, but that is part of life, too. Catching slowly up with you guys and understanding how much we all have grown and how much of the "old" us in still there, I am ALWAYS amazed about it!

And then there is Saturday or Friday Night. Last Saturday, I might have been dancing until 5 oclock again in the morning since a friend got cards for a big party in the opera in Bonn. Apparently, every couple of weeks, this seems to be happening.

So, if anybody is up for any kind of activity (not necessarily during the night, of course), give me a call.

Gracias a la vida

Mercedes Sosa sings this famous song, I hope you will like it, too!

the song

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me dio dos luceros, que cuando los abro,
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado el oà do que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y dà a, grillos y canarios,
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario;
Con à l las palabras que pienso y declaro:
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados;
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
Playas y desiertos, montaÃnas y llanos,
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano,
Cuando miro al bueno tan lejos del malo,
Cuando miro al fondo de tus ojos claros.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto.
Asà yo distingo dicha de quebranto,
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto,
Y el canto de ustedes que es mi mismo canto,
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto.
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.

out of office!!!!!!

Have you guys phrases that annoy the hell out of you? Something you use or somebody else? And then you realize you can´t stand it?

Today, there it was again. one of the most annoying phrases, I was talking to a colleague and said "I apologize for[ ]" and the next one: "hey, I am not sure how to do this and I am sorry for calling you but I need advice on [ ]". And a lot of laughter about it afterwards. Friends from work and me got out of the office around 6 pm today, walking towards the train station. We were trying to figure out a phrase that can be a quick substitute for the reflex-like use of apologetic stuff. I even mean it, that´s the worst thing about it. In the case of friends, a totally different story, but it sucks in the office! A LOT.

SO.
depending on the person and the context, the reflex should be:

"Out of office" [we had no idea idea what scenario that would be, but it´s fun if I could use it as a permanent substitute]
"I would apologize right now but I am too annoyed to do so because asking for this info already annoys the hell out of me"
"I apologize. Naah, I take it back. "

Apart from this stuff, I am really moved about the last few days.

Spent Friday in Mannheim, again with friends from my school in Spain and AGAIN dancing until 4 o´clock in the morning.
Spent half a Saturday night with a friend watching fireworks at the Rhine on the height of Bonn (Rhein in Flammen, es war mal wieder so weit). And will spent some time with Bea (btw, dear: Karten verkauf hasn´t started yet, but I will let you know asap once I have the ticket), you will see, August is going to be here so soon, YEYYYYY :))

A big hug to all of you, and I am keeping fingers crossed for all of you.

B

Leuchtschrifthypnose

Dear all,

apparently, my brain is going through something comparable to defragmenting a computer. But the science of putting the pieces together so they make sense seems to be a bit more difficult than expected.

Phone call with Hille the other day: "you birthday on day 5th is a Friday, right?"
Hille: "My birthday is on the 8th"
me: "Oh boy. I thought my stepfather´s birthday was on a 3rd which is not true and I new this for years that he has his birthday on the 8th. But I congratulate him for the second year in a row on the 3d thinking I am perfectly right to do so. Found out that I was wrong a couple of days ago. And have known your birthday for a couple of years too and here we are :)"

Same evening, a message to a dear friend: "Happy birthday, dear, enjoy your day."
Next day: Friend calls - whom I have known for minimum 15 years -: "I wanted to thank you so much, you were actually the first one to congratulate given the fact that my birthday is on Monday :))))"

This is close to being hilarious if I think about it....

So on Monday morning, on his ACTUAL birthday, I was sitting in the train. Quite sleepy to be honest, and was looking at a date displayed next to the actual hour of arrival. Had just sent a second congrats sms, and looked at that display for I don´t know how long. And now I feel the image of that display is carved in my brain forever. Hopefully.

Shall it happen that I congratulate you guys a month to soon, to late or miss it by a couple of days, please think of me as an old lady. And help her over the proverbial street with too many signs that is her brain :) Or tell me were the next display with your birthday on it is so I can ponder a while :)

A big hug,
Birgit

strange loop and 17 people why

I am very tired lately.

But this is fun: Douglas Hofstadter. Igniting a million thoughts and doing that with stories about fabulous worlds, "Klüdgerot", Principia Mathematica (I hope eI spelled it right), how to look at a mountain from the bird perspective and its lowest point all for the sake of explaining something bigger.

In a side-story, he mentions the people who have strongly affected him withoung meeting them, famous ones, historic figures, whatever.

Soooooo...... Who are your favourite people, dead, alive and what would you like to ask them?



1. my biological Grandmothers whom I never got to know:

"Tell me about the happiest moment in your life!"

2. J.S. Bach:

Tell me about Glenn Gould when he played your pieces, are you impressed, too?

3. The baker who first served Pizza Margherita in Naples:

"What did the Queen think about THAT"

4. John Ruskin

"See what art has achieved during the last 100 years and pick your favorite piece. Please?"

5. Johannes Brahms:

" How is perceived improvisation in your well-structured pieces possible.

6. Douglas Hofstädter:

I don´t dare to ask a thing, would you terribly mind talking about whatever comes into your mind?

7. Sten Nadolny

One of your books about slowliness has changed my life. What changed yours?

8. Emilia Earheart

Would you mind describing me your contemporary world and Flagellan?

9. The band Morcheeba

When did the song "let me see" come into your mind first?

10. Michelangelo

Your sculpture "The Slave" made my knees weak. What do you feel when you see it?

11. Ethan Hawke

We are born on the same day, I am so excited!

12. Mark Rothko

I wish you could have a stayed a little longer!

13. Chandler in the show "Friends"

Could I BE any more impressed?

14. Heath Ledger

Legendary in "10 thing I hate about you", sorry you had to leave us so early

15. Mercedes Sosa

"Gracias a la vida" y por la grabación de "Alfonsina"

16. unknown singer of a russian song called "nye sprashevai" on an actual vinyl LP

Thank you so much for lightening me up

17. Khalil Gibran

Tell me about YOUR friends!

Why, Marc, why?

what does make one feel sexy?

A former colleague told me once something I think about often:

"If you have to stand in front of people in order to present them anything, the best thing apart from being 150% prepared of course is feeling sexy."

Do you believe so, too?

It starts with small things not worth mentioning. For the last years agua de colonia. A few of you already know my passion for that stuff. German people usually hate it, because the lemon-smell reminds them of what old people wear in Germany. In Spain, splashing in such stuff is ok and can be very refreshing, i personally feel much "safer" when I am wearing some, especially in summer time. And it doesn´t bother the surrounding as much as perfume.

But then I found Marc Jacobs. He develops body splashs amongst other things. They come out in turns: fresh, funny and unbelievable fragrances. I am not talking about feeling safe but SEXY.

Once a year, I check out his new stuff. Today it was time again.

"cucumber" blew my mind. And I will have to wait minimum a couple of months before "basil" is finished, uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

To feeling sexy in this world. And Marc, you are a GOD.

"get right" and Doug

Can´t get the song get it right out of my head, so wish should I suffer alone :)

JLo - get it right

so much stuff to tell you.

First of all, a couple of days ago I met friends close to Mainz. We went to school in Spain and it was so much fun! One of them is an amazing youtube-DJane and we danced in the living-room until 4 o´clock in the morning. We decided not to post the fotos but will for sure have the possibility to show them to you in person. It was so much fun!

Regarding Italy, I was really worried about my friends in Rome and in the monastery. But guess what: Rome is basically built on a "geological Swiss Cheese" for so many layers of historical construction one above the other. Hence, the earthquake in the middle of Italy did not have any effect whatsoever. Rob, her family and the other Rob are doing fine, I spoke with them during the last days. Still saying prayers for people in crisis.

At the moment, I am reading Douglas Hofstädter´s works to keep the brain elastic and it works :) It´s much more fun than I ever expected :)

My muse is waking up again, though I needed some time to get there. I am on holiday until Wednesday which is really great. Talking about the muse, there is a downside to it, sometimes. Did anybody follow the details around the film slumdog millionaire? There is a strong discussion about the kids going on who acted for the film. Apparently, the youngest actors originally came from the actual slums in Mumbai and right after having joined the Oscars in LA, they went straight home into the slums. If I have the facts straight, they received a couple of hundreds of Dollars for their acting. It is such a mess. Now, it has been declared that both kids will have trust-funds for their education. I cannot really believe how so many Western people could be so unbelievably blind-sighted, taking those kids out of their environment, taking them into the film-world, then to LA to the Oscars and escorting them back into misery (it was filmed and really bad). The least thing I would have expected is a partial donation to improve the infrastructure in that specific slum in general. What would you guys think is the right thing if they HAD to hire those kids?



Anyway, apart from that: Köln is blooming, people are enjoying the sun. I am supposed to paint my living-room because their is a stain on the wall. But nope, I don´t even care that I didn´t do it. Doug was more important, and talking to you guys where and when possible. Aaaaand I will be joining with Bea soon, that is so great!

More to come.

Un beso und bis bald,
B

Soonissimo is more alive than ever!

You guys,

If it hadn´t been for the last week, I would have missed so much!

I had to work way too much for two weeks now and pling! Reminder. Today, I went home at 5pm
Emilia, I miss you.
Mangos, you are up for a good surprise, nada de crecer hasta el techo, eh! :)
I want to have holidays asap.



More by the end of the week, I am going to Northern Germany tomorrow

I miss you guys.

A big hug,
B

bonsai skills, anybody?

You guys,

I have thinking about the fact that my really fast-growing mangos (ten centimetres in two weeks!) will need some help or they might outgrow me soon.

So I have decided a little experiment, I will try to make them bonsais, unless one of those three goes to one of you :)

Anybody, ideas?

Bea, please don´t worry, I swear I just wanted to to go bed. And got annoyed about a new express order from the board in my company, so it´s easier to focus on something fun.


NOW I will really go to bed, promised!

HUGGGGGS,
B

mango III/III

ha ha ha,

the mangos are really having fun. they already got rid of their protecting skin and I feel like a biologist. If it were up to me, the pots would be cut in half and prepped with a display so I wouldn´t have to dig around the pits in order to see how they are doing. All three of them seem to be digging their respective earth. A friend of mine told me that they grow really fast, so if they will really make it, I will have to get them good homes, one of them being mine. Until then, they will be around Emilia and Sam to be entertained. :)

Here in everyday life, there are a lot of other things to take into consideration.

The less I want to think about it, the closer it comes: tooth surgery. I remember being happy not having additional tooth (wisdom teeth). But being spared from that apparently dragged a bigger issue behind (if there is such thing of logic in it at all). So I have been researching. And found a place to do this. Urgh, it sucks. But a friend of mine is going to be there to give me moral support and lending a helping hand afterwards. I am so lucky to have all of you.

Winter is almost over. is was really warm for two days, then it got rainy and windy again, but today looks really peaceful. Birds are chirping right now. Hormones will be circling soon again and it will make people do funny things as every year around this time.

This week, great news from you guys: One friend is pregnant, other friends are getting married soon, another friend got married!!!!! Even though we all have to figure out so many things on a daily basis or long-term, and in my personal opinion it is not always easy to make through them, it makes me feel confident and happy that all of us have things going. And that we are safe and sound.

Talking about every day life: Just bought the autobiography of Pablo Neruda and I think I am off now!

A huge hug as alwaysI wish you all a great weekend.

B

heyyy mangos!!!

Dear guys,

Mango pits like 25-30 C, not too much water, a sunny place and Sam! My camera doesn´t work at the moment so I cannot take a foto of this, but it looks really fun.

I remember planting beans in 5th grade and it is the same thing, so cool.

I am sorry for not being too entertaining these days, work is finally starting with some real stuff in my area and time is flying because there is so much to do and to learn.

A big hug to all of you,
OQM
B

hey soonissimo

You guys,

The last days were full of surprises.

Sam couldn´t take over writing here, because he is watching three mango pits, of which TWO are starting to root in their respective pots (if root is a verb).

On my side, Carnaval, tons of work, tax declaration, business trips.

Carnaval was weird. On Carnivalmonday, the entire town is outside in the streets watching the parade. Once you stand in the crowd, watch out for flying chocolate and catch them in time. the train station looked like this:



Work: I wouldn´t like to bore you guys so I will spare you.

Spring is here! Since Friday, it is getting really warm.

More later.

A huge hug,
B

hispanic marketss

Hi there, this is Sam again.

B is preparing to sleep and asked me to share something with you guys:

http://video.dld-conference.com/watch/9XeQ1nX?t=dld09%2C2009-01-27&gal=sessions#?gal=news

She says it might be interesting for Spain/LA geeks on market development, especially ay tee/publishing.


Knock yourselves out.

Fluffy hug, Sam

ps: Almudena Grandes won the other day!

in the competition between Baroja and Grandes, Grandes won, she finished that book first :)


B is wondering if anybody can recommend her book "aires dificiles" and "corazón helado"?

from Sam to fluffy, furry and human friends!

Dear all,
it has been a while since I wrote to you guys, but B is bored out of her mind because she isn´t feeling well and her brain is really dull for a couple of days.

So I spend the day
-playing with fruits in the kitchen
-asking Emilia about humidity (is it sufficient or does she prefer a dryer environment?)
-The plant get the question the other way round (especially the english mint called menta and Laurelia require a lot of humidity!)
-Enrique wonders why B has so many blankets with her at the moment and greets Knut in Berlin!
-looking into the stars, we think of Dov-tov, T-Rex
-looking into a map we think of the horse without name and Conchita
-how is David the Gingko I have never met, Anina!
-due to my low chances of moving throughout the appartment, I need to ask B to take me anywhere which she gladly does!

The other day, B went to Copenhagen and got into a hassle: in the train to the station she realized she had left me and the foto camera sitting on the kitchen table! I spent the time with the kitchen devices and plants and when B came back she told me everything about it!

De lille havfrue - also known as the little mermaid, is sitting all year on a stone close to the sea, it must be great! And she says she has so many memories about the town, from lightyears ago and business trips throughout the last years. Life is colourful, at least most of it, apparently :)

A big hug to you all,
Sam

stupid bronchitis

I got a bug and am working on getting rid of it.

More news to come!

Hugggs,
B

facebook

You guys,

Facebook is so much fun. Susi invited me to be her contacts, and ever since then (to be exact: yesterday) so many people from an old school requested contacted or I contacted them, I am really amazed! raubfisch, you HAVE to join, this is so much fun. I cannot tell names here, but it is hilarious and interesting to get in touch with so many people! What they look like now, what they do, do they look happy.

Hugggs to all of you,
B

need help for a pitch

You guys,

The following scenario: take a company, have a boy´s club reigning, try pitching promoting women in the company into mananegement positions that the boy´s club might perceive as sexy enough to pursue.

A friend and me have been thinking on how to demonstrate inmediate and long-term benefits, I am curious to know about your ideas, I will be happy to share what we have so far via e-mail :)

Hugggggs,
B

Almudena Grandes and Pio Baroja

Dear all,

train riding might have its perks. one of them is reading books. If I am lucky, my day starts with Emilia, after showering and tea, rushing out and continue with my book in the train. Since spanish makes me happy, I went through a pile of books from school and later buys in Spain so I can wrap my head around all of it. The reading started a couple of months ago, including Gabito, Mario Vargas Llosa, Pablo Neruda...

At the moment, I am reading two books, depending on the bag I have with me. So, Almudena Grandes because years ago I saw an interview with her and her vibrant personality made me be curious about her books. And the fact that I had missed the train and I had the wrong - empty - bag with me (there is a book shop in the station). There is a story about a tailor who makes the uniforms for toreros and another one about a musician. Vibrations about Madrid, ah! An air that changes when the tailor hands out that uniform, when the glorious moment and happiness converts the new owner into somebody who might fear what will happen once he wears it outside its cradle. But it is not written spooky, to me it feels like describing a fascinating kind of bravery and an attitude and having chosen a profession I cannot understand.

And Pio Baroja. That book has been gathering dust here for ages, I think my brother must have read it in school since I cannot recall the content myself. I opened the it and was intrigued, it speaks from my heart. Written by somebody who lived until the 60s.

Can´t decide which bag will be better for tomorrow´s train ride.

I will let you know.

Hugs and happiness,
B

ah, I am so relaxed

Dear all,

Sam is sitting in the next room and I feel as "elastic" as he is.

Sleeping well every night for weeks now. Today I felt strange and I realized: I am not beating myself up for the following these days: what might come, what is in the past, work, why my first data flows confronts me with thousands of details. Recession, men, cats, dogs, somebody really mad at me, what people think, why I can´t wear a pair of trousers I love, not having finished an exercise with Emilia, restarting with Pilates. Of course I am being careful nonetheless and critical but life seems to be so much more than those daily worries. I am trying to understand a bigger picture, I guess.

It feels really weird because it is not something usual, life in peace of mind. And it´s good.

Saying little prayers for all of you, your friends, families, partners.

I am off to Copenhagen on Sunday and can´t wait for it. Business, dozens of suits :)

Beso,
B

do ducks snore after they fall asleep?

from the following link, we won´t know...
my favourite one is the the sleeping polar bear, and he definitely DOES so!:

CUTE THINGS FALLING ASLEEP click here

which one is your favourite?

Köln is not really used to snow

since yesterday morning, Köln is covered in snow which for a change doesn´t melt a second after falling. For the rest of Germany, this might be usual, but the area of Köln and Bonn are known to have a milder climate. Lucky me :)

Yesterday it took me 2,5 hours to get to work, towns, streets, train connections, everything in chaos. I have the hardest time remembering if in any other town in Germany people adapt quickly to the masses of snow. What I do know is that the highways were impossible to use and the snow chaos must have been one of the biggest in years. The temperature way below zero and the slow pace due to ice, everywhere do remind me of what Keren mentioned the other day, hopefully it is over soon, spring, where art thou :)

Today, I stayed home in order to prevent a cold, having litres of tea, spicy soup, sweets, watching friends and will go to sleep right now.

Love you all,
B

did somebody hear me say I did not want to party tonight?

The invite for the party came in yesterday around 3 pm. Tonight, I had a great time, tons of people from Southern America, Italy, Germany, fantastic! We ended up dancing all night and I think I should go to bed now :)

Mil gracias por una noche maravillosa, chiquis!

me, exactly 12 hours ago