until we meet again ...

So this is almost it.  My time in Krakow is almost up. I won't bore you with details as to how I got to be in Krakow and why I now have to leave: all I'll say is that I was blessed with this opportunity and I want to thank those who gave it to me and supported me in this decision - you have my eternal gratitude.

The last 8 months were spent jetting between home in Malta and home in Krakow but packing and printing the boarding pass this time feels incredibly hard.  I have to pack practically everything and I know that I'll only be back in about 2 months' time and not in 7 days' time as usual.  There have been tears, let me tell you that - and I know that until I get on the plane on Sunday, more will be shed. 

But let me try to dwell on the positives, rather than the negatives: 

island vs mainland life

Let me start with a premise: I won't return to Malta with a typical ex-pat attitude that life abroad is a million times better than back on the rock.  There definitely are a lot of pros, but also cons.  And I love Malta for its heritage and quaintness but certainly not for its parochial mentality.  Living on mainland Europe certainly gives you a sense of space and imbues you with a sense of humility towards the greatness of the world in its entirety.  Others who have spent time living abroad will probably understand me. Despite being an island, I find Malta to be confined and confining.  The furthest you can go on a whim is to the sister island Gozo.  (Ok, you could go to the airport and buy the first ticket out to anywhere - unless you have to have pre-printed boarding passes bla bla bla ...) Simply catching the train to Wadowice, Katowice and Zakopane in the last eight months - places not much more than 1 hour away from Krakow (with the exception of Zakopane) was an enlightening experience.  Train rides actually give you the possibility of seeing the expanse of land you're crossing, unlike travelling by plane.  And you feel humbled.  Very, very humbled.

language barriers

Of course, one of the first things I took care of, even before I knew for sure that I would be coming to Krakow, was to start learning Polish.  I can't say I can understand all that I hear or that I can say much, other than basic introductions, descriptions and key phrases for shopping etc ... but at the grand old age of 33, learning a new language - completely alien in terms of phonetics and grammar to the languages I've learnt before - was a challenge.  As I said, my Polish language skills are still very weak, but at least I can say "I did it!"

the weather

Yes, even the weather deserves a mention in this list of things I will deeply cherish about my stay in Poland.  I had never experienced snow other than for one day when I was on holiday in the Italian Dolomites.  So experiencing what apparently was a long winter of snow for the first time in my life - including snow on Good Friday and Easter, was both novel and testing.  But at this point in time, I can almost quite safely say that I'm happy to trade in Malta's wintery flash-floods and its suffocating heat-waves for a cold, long winter and a summer where you can still wear a blazer with no one batting an eyelid or you breaking into hyperhidrosis!

work ethics

Being in Krakow for these 8 months was not a holiday.  While my boyfriend pursued his studies, I held the fort by tele-commuting for my job.  In other words, I worked from home.  I must confess that this had a lot of advantages: I was so much more concentrated on the tasks I was working on, could focus more and at times didn't even know when to call it a day! I made it a point to keep the routine of waking up early and getting ready as though I'm actually going out to work so as not to encourage myself to be lazy and stay all day in my PJs. Most days I even put make up on, even though I wouldn't have any outings planned in the evening! By all means, certain tasks would need more hands-on approach and actual meetings and running around offices so I did feel somewhat limited from that perspective.

food glorious food

As a vegetarian with lactose intolerance, Poland is possibly the least likely of places where I could have found edible stuff to satisfy my needs.  The weighing scales, however, state otherwise.  With a cuisine based on meat and dairies, as well as stodgy carbs, I succumbed to the latter two (with the help of lactase enzymes which I've been over consuming!) Pierogi are by far my most favourite of traditional dishes with bite-sized smoked oscypek and obwarzanki battling for the top spot in the snack category. There's a good selection of soy-based mock meats here which I don't find in Malta (so i could have a 'normal' looking sandwich with soy mortadella at times) but they're a bit difficult to come by.  I've also found what I have decided to name as the largest, most delicious vegetarian burger I've ever eaten at this place called Moa Burger - the fava bean is a must for those like me or if you're not in the mood for meat! In terms of size, let's say that I could cover my face with the bun ...

my days with warhol, banksy, biffy and franz

Suffice to say that if I weren't to remember any of these things about Krakow, the one thing that would be permanently imprinted in my mind is that this is the place where I saw my first Warhol and Banksy up close.  Those of you who've been following this blog know I'm pretty obsessed with these two artists, and finding a Warhol retrospective when I moved here and a Banksy piece in another exhibition on during the last weeks was possibly one of the highlights of the year.  As I mentioned in another post, the 'grand finale' so to say of my stay here was the Coke Life Music Festival where I got to see some of my favourite bands.  The only chance of seeing these foreign acts while living in Malta would have only been possible by getting on a flight and heading to one of their concerts or a festival in another land. For some reason, Malta seems to only appease or attract those of a more 'pop' or dancey musical inclination and anything remotely verging on the alternative is regrettably given the cold shoulder.

the simple things

As I stated in my first point, I don't want to return to Malta to snob it.  But there are things which the island can certainly learn from here (and I'm just focusing on Krakow, not all of Poland!) Efficient public transport with precise timetables posted on every stop (and schedules adhered to), public transport tickets valid for all forms of public transport, shops - including grocers - open till late to cater for people who work long hours, 24 hour convenience stores and supermarkets, all forms of art given equal prominence and promotion, cleanliness ... Just a word on this latter aspect: with horse-drawn carriages as a main tourist attraction in the Old Town, you'd be hard pressed to find any sign of horse poop along the streets, simply because the cabby drivers pick it up straight away and dispose of it in a sealed bag.  I think it's high time this practice is adopted back home as well. 

and of course, him

He was of course, the best part of these 8 months and I fail to find the words to describe how much I'm going to miss being with my boyfriend, until I get to come back to Krakow.  Words have no place here, only feelings.

stuff that gets me worked up online

how long have we had the internet for? some readers may have been born in an age where looking up something academic, or purely for entertainment/voyeuristic purposes came as second nature. those closer to my age group will remember dial up internet and waiting long minutes, if not hours, for something to download. oh, and of course, we used to have to wait for off-peak telephone rates, make sure no one tries to make a call in the meantime, and we had to be stuck to one place for hours since there was no wireless connectivity.

my, my, how things have changed. 

but with the greater availability of the internet, came also the greater availability of things that make my blood boil. a few cases in point here. now, before you start reading, i'm pretty sure that i've fallen victim to one or more of these horrors. so please don't think that i'm standing on some moral high ground here. i'm just saying it as it is, kicking myself every now and again in the process.

1. intrnt spk / grammar and spelling mistakes

if there is one thing that really gets me hot under the collar is incorrect grammar and spelling. are we really that busy not to afford to re-read an email / status update / blog post to make sure that we've written it in correct grammar and with no spelling mistakes? we can't always rely on spell-check you know - if you type 'form' instead of 'from', spell-check will be none the wiser.  and what about all those 'lol', 'omg', 'gn', 'ttyl', 'tltr' and the whole host of other internet slang which keep mushrooming? personally i find all of this highly disrespectful towards the intended reader.  it's like telling someone 'look, i've sent you a message, but first you have to break the enigma code to find out what i have to tell you.'

'laughing so hard i dropped my taco'

2. over-sharing

i'm not talking about life events which shake one out of their being - new relationships, births, deaths, marriages are situations which one feels they would want to share with all those around them, be they positive or negative.  it is natural for humans to reach out, and today's online world makes it easier than ever. but does one really need to share their latest snack? i've seen facebook status updates on the lines of 'eating my pavesi crackers with philadelphia cheese, while listening to capital radio'.  erm, who cares? or a status update about how hungover one is on a sunday afternoon? well, serves you right. we've all seen your photos from the previous night instantly shared during your drunken stupor, anyway.  i think one rule of social media should be 'if you have nothing good - or intelligent - to say, don't say anything.'

3. all those glamour shots

once upon a time, i bought an slr and i attended a few courses in photography.  i thought that one day, after long years of studying and practicing, i would possibly have a little studio where i would take a few artistic pictures that would please me primarily, and serve as an artistic vehicle for any social message i'd want to convey.  because of time and other exigencies, that dream has temporarily been shelved. anyway, what i would love to produce photographically would in any case jar with the plethora of highly photoshopped, glamour shots that pollute my facebook feed.  i can't see another 'baby in rambo gear' shot or 'glamour girl beach' shot with her privates barely covered, or family shot with children looking as though they're holding their own superimposed image in their hand.  luckily there are the tasteful ones, and these are the ones i'm hanging onto - you know who you are.  any one of those who excels in the glamour/baby/beach/bodybuilding/awkward family photo categories, i'm afraid it's time to say goodbye.

4. we're all photographers

and while we're on the subject of photography, where is the humility that makes a true artist? having an slr or an iphone/smartphone for that matter, and a working knowledge of instagram or web-based tools such as picmonkey, pixlr or photoshop itself doesn't make one a photographer.  oh, and placing a huge watermark on your image for fear of it being stolen or used without any credit doesn't make you a photographer either.  as i said earlier, i took a few courses and during that time, i had got onto the watermarked signature bandwagon. soon enough i realised i was kidding myself.  with half a course done and only a few hours of practice under my sleeve how did i have the audacity to sign my photos as though i was some master of the art? i'm not saying it's not ok to share pictures: far from it.  we all know that you get more traffic to your facebook account by sharing photos rather than just status updates.  but don't image that that blurry iphone shot of your girlfriend standing next to the eiffel tower is the 21st century's equivalent of the mona lisa, please.

5. online shopping

now this is going to come across as quite strange for all of you who know my almost addictive dependence on online shopping.  but there are two things that irk me about it.  big fluffy time.  (a) finding something truly unique is a real chore.  most online stores seem to be clones of one another - fair enough, if tartan is the trend du jour, then the landing page will be full of tartan inspired dresses, skirts and accessories.  but do they all really have to look the same? and (b) it is so easy to do and to get lost in it.  not having physical contact with your cash makes it so much easier to lose track of your spending.  it's so easy to place 20 items in the 'save for later' wishlist and adding half of them to the bag without actually counting how much they're amounting to. oh, and you need that dress by the weekend? add an extra charge for tracked, express shipping. in for a penny, in for a pound.

6. all those viral videos

there are some good, truly heart-warming and inspirational videos that thanks to social media (let's face it, the internet has practically become dominated by social media) go 'viral' or in other words spread like wild fire with millions of people sharing them over and over again.  i have no problem as such with these 'good' virals (even though i get tired of them relatively easy).  but with the good, come the bad and the ugly.  that awkward looking guy who's producing apparently expensive music videos in the hope of becoming the next justin bieber? that 4-year old kid singing sinatra's 'my way' whose mom hopes he'll be the next bieber? what about all the trolling (now that's another 'internet' word i get all iffy about) and commenting almost to the verge of cyber-bullying? yes, if someone has placed a video online, then they should be ready for the praise as well as the parody.  but a little courtesy (by keeping schtum on your abusive comments) or constructive criticism never hurt anyone.

7. cookies and adsense 

from what i understand about cookies, these are little monsters somewhere in the great interweb which follow what we've searched, what we've read, what we've shared ... anything we've ever done online. adsense, on the other hand are other little monsters which bombard us with adverts based on the web content we're browsing, the same web content which is being stored by the cookie monsters.  these little monsters work in cahoots to invade our personal online spaces. so it shouldn't come as a surprise that all the ads i seem to get on my pages relate to (a) online stores, (b) diet tricks and (c) travel.  sometimes these monsters do make my life easy since they give me the booking.com page straight on the youtube video i'd be watching, reminding me i have to book my next work or holiday trip.  but at the same time, it does give me that augmented sense of 'big brother is watching'.  but then again, when wasn't he ever?

my kind of cookie. any time. 

ok, so that was my weekly rant of sorts.  usually, these tirades come more naturally on a monday morning, but hey, every day is a good day for a rant! what are your pet peeves on the 'net? let me know xx

confession #000074

... or, let the magic begin

as you may remember from yesterday's post, i've decided (once again) to re-commit myself to my diet and fitness regime. in order to do this successfully, i felt i needed to look into the bag of tricks which had previously worked when i could - not long ago - actually wear a size 6.

i'm going to list these little tricks, both as a memo to self and also for you dear readers in case you find them useful should you also be embarking on or currently on a diet.  so here goes:

track it!

control is something that i find most important when dieting, so every single piece of food or drink that goes in my mouth goes down on a list first.  previously i used to jot down everything on a notebook and carry a calorie list with me wherever i went.  luckily, with apps like myfitnesspal and caloriecount, those days are gone.  their databases are incredibly updated and you can also add local products which the more american / continental markets wouldn't have.

work it!

exercise, exercise, exercise! now, i am not a fitness-freak.  lord knows i can't run for five minutes without gasping for life half way through.  but this is a time to say 'stuff it' and run - or jog, or walk, or box, or spin, or whatever your fitness drug is.  what's crucial is not to go in at the deep end straight away, but ease into it with some light cardio and then build up the exercise as your resistance and stamina levels increase.

plan it!

you can't play diets by the ear.  you have to meticulously plan what you're going to eat and how and when for it to be a success.  if for instance you know that you have a dinner at the weekend, plan a couple of light days before so that you can then enjoy the meal and not feel like an outsider.  also, if your culinary outing is at one of the global franchises, chances are you'll find their menus on the apps mentioned above and you can plan ahead even your calorie / fat intake and work the day around that.

box it! 

this goes hand in hand with planning.  if you're the type who leaves the workday lunch to chance, depending on what the cafe / bar next door to the office has on the day, you're just not going to manage.  take some time extra in the evening or early morning if possible and prepare a packed lunch. this is the only way in which you can be sure that the onions were sauteed in spray-oil not butter, that the mayonnaise is really light / low-fat and that all the fat has been trimmed off the chicken / bacon etc etc.  it may be a little extra work, but it will be worth it at the end.

play it!

keep yourself motivated and active through music.  whenever you're working out, listen to music which you enjoy and which inspires you to move about.  i'm not a big fan of r'n'b and clubbing music, but if i were to listen to alt-j, young the giant, the xx or arctic fire while working out, i'd probably not get much done.  this is pretty much what i listen to when i want to move about - even if i'm not doing any physical activity ... it helps as a little 'pick me up'.

combine it!

a few years back i had come across the hay diet or food combining diet which (in very simple terms) advises to avoid mixing carbs and proteins in the same meal because of the different way in which the body processes these two substances.  hence, in a nutshell, a greek salad (feta, salad leaves, onions, tomatoes, olives, peppers) would be fine but not a greek salad pita.  the minute you include the carb (pita) with the feta (protein), you'll have a little war going on in your stomach, leading to bloating and bad digestion.  admittedly, it takes a bit of time to get used, but once it becomes part of the routine, it is actually a pretty nifty eating system.

aim (at) it!

keep your eyes fixed on the goal, be it a special occasion - a wedding, a graduation, an anniversary - or a dress or pair of jeans you want to fit in, and don't let anything or anyone distract you from achieving that goal. you are stronger than all the temptations and excuses that will most certainly pop up, trying to veer you off your track.  this is your time to shine, and shine you will!

i hope you enjoyed this post; however, before i leave you i want to give you a word of warning: i am neither a dietician nor a doctor nor a physical instructor.  all of the above is based on what has / has not worked for me over the last 20 years or so of on and off dieting and exercising.  and therefore, before you decide to start any dieting or fitness regime, i urge you to please seek medical and nutritional consultation. there's nothing more harmful than following fad diets found on those intrusive online adverts or read about on celebrity magazines.  everyone is different and what works for one person, may not work for another.  so please take care of yourselves and seek creditable information before you try anything new.

keep well xx

confession #000073

... or, mondays should be renamed diet days 

it's the start of a new week, and with every start of a new week comes the start of a new diet. or, at least, the renewed efforts of dieting, unequivocally triggered by guilt-trips from the weekend's binge. show of hands all those who are in the same place as i am! 

following my return to krakow last wednesday for my last month here (excuse me while i start the waterworks again) it's been a bit of a whirlwind time trying to catch up with all that there is to do or see in this city before i leave, while at the same time playing tour guide to a friend visiting from the motherland. this has somewhat wrecked havoc with the dieting efforts i sort of managed to keep while i was in malta. lunching and dining out most of these days, i couldn't calculate the number of calories or grams of fat i was ingesting. in all fairness, i could have controlled my choices: a greek salad would have been a wiser option than a zapiekanka ... but then again, i'll have to wait till my october holiday here to enjoy one again.  carpe diem and all that.

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confession #000066

... or, anticipation is a b*tch

much as i love, love, love (did i say i love?) online shopping, the anticipation of waiting for that darn parcel is something i can't quite get my head round.  case in point: this pinafore dress and bowler hat from boohoo and the shirt from the kooples.

anticipation is a b*tch by tikkamars featuring a pinafore dress

the dress and hat are on their way, i know. i'm tracking the parcel every other hour  the shirt is still en cours de préparation.  oh the anxiety, the anticipation, the suspense... as trivial and shallow as this post is, for someone whose only missing virtue (ahemm...) is patience, those days 'in transit' always seem like an eternity.

give me some love if you agree, come on x

confession #000065

... or, how not to get lost in the sales

as opposed to banksy's 'sale ends today' piece, sales have just about started or are about to start.  from one shopaholic to another, let's face it, it's easy to get lost in the sales - losing not only track of which store you are in amidst the confusion, but also of your spending ability.  i've spent many a day rummaging in unkempt rails in stores, elbowing my way to get that item i'd been coveting, and queueing up to walk into stores, only to walk out empty handed some of the times.

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confession #000064

... or, the miracle makers

on a good day, this is what i wake up to (well, first i would have to get my coffee done, but anyway!)

the point is, i am, by far, the worst sleeper ever.  anyone who has ever shared a bedroom with me will confirm that.  it takes me forever to fall asleep and then, as soon as i wake up - which is generally at day-break, before my alarm goes off - i expect the world to wake up with me.  i don't know how to sleep unless it's pitch dark, i'm in a bed and it's eerily quiet.  sometimes i don't even manage that, as i tend to spook myself when it's just so quiet i can hear the neighbour's heartbeats.  i can't sleep at the beach or on a plane and it generally takes me a couple of nights to get accustomed to a 'foreign' bed.  so most times, i return home from trips abroad having hardly clocked 8 hours of sleep over two nights.

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confession #000058

... or, just one of those days

this morning i woke up in one of those 'eating isn't very chanel' / 'nothing tastes as good as skinny does' kind of moods. i don't know if the (by now locally infamous) transforma advert had anything to do with it.  what with playing on my sub-conscious and all that.  it could even be the realisation of the total abandonment of any dieting effort over the last month.  my schedule has been as bad sh*t crazy as the weather here in krakow, providing me with ample excuses reasons to forego a jog for a cup of tea and a bar of chocolate.

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confession #000041

...or, size matters

or, to avoid any misunderstandings, let's call it 'matters of size'.  

you may remember my post from a few weeks ago about making the most of fashion when you're 5' tall or thereabouts.   i've often also complained about my rather rotund figure, which, being short, makes me feel even more corpulent.  somehow the willpower and stamina to stick to my diet or an exercise regime are nowhere to be found.  my commitment levels are somewhat taken up by what i feel are more important things such as my relationship with my loved ones, my work and having as good a life as possible.  

so it came as a very nice surprise when this morning, forgetting that it is actually a public holiday both back home in malta and here in poland, i came across this article on the dailymail (there's only so-much intense reading you can do before your first coffee) about h&m's latest swimwear campaign.  i'm not referring to h&m's campaign featuring a smouldering beyonce knowles, who herself is beautifully curvaceous.  

the ad campaign i'm referring to is actually for h&m+'s range, which caters for, well, the more endowed.  i love how beautifully healthy model jennie runk looks, as well as h&m's tact by actually playing down the fact the range is for 'the bigger girls'.

my favourite quote of the whole article is where jennie runk states:

'So much of advertising and fashion portrays only one kind of body, and that's super tall and super skinny. I think not only should there be more plus-sized models in fashion, there should also be more petite, pregnant, ethnic, etc. 'I think ever woman should be represented equally -- we're all beautiful in our own ways!'

and heck, yes, so it should be! when you're stuck in a 4'11'' body, with a pot belly that won't shift and way too much junk in the trunk for your height, you yearn for a stylish inspirational figure.  i'll admit to finding solace in images of kourtney kardashian, who's a few months older than me and actually just a couple of centimetres taller than me ... and who, after two pregnancies, is looking better than ever.  but then again, her gym routine is probably part of her public life unlike mine! 

there, i had my morning rant.  now off i go to make the most of this public holiday! toodles xx

confession #000036

... or, let the wedding season begin!

fair enough, i only have one wedding invitation for the coming month, but the main conversation with the girls at the office over the last few days revolved around weddings, and wedding guest outfits.

the spring months are generally synonymous with weddings and the enjoyable trauma of shopping for that perfect outfit to wear as a guest.  i'm sure brides and brides/grooms' mothers and the entire entourage go through a much more stressful process ... but having been only a bridesmaid so far (a number of times), i've only experienced part of that so far.

i find that over the years, weddings have somewhat lost part of their glamour.  possibly, this is because some of the weddings i've attended over the last years, included guests wearing hot-pant suits.  that is just plain wrong, at least in my books.  i do appreciate that weddings have in fact become a slightly more casual affair than in yesteryear, but not to that extent.

when shopping for a wedding guest outfit, i find that it is important to bear in mind four simple points so as not to get it wrong:

• your relationship with the bride and groom:  this is not limited to whether they're family or not, but how close you are and how respectful you are towards them.  showing up to their special day in an outfit you would wear to the beach is not the right approach, unless, that is, the wedding is a beach wedding ... and even there, a string bikini is not what they're after ... 

• the wedding location: google the venue if you haven't been there before to get an idea of the setting.  if it's a palatial setting, then don your most exquisite gown; if it's a garden wedding, steer clear of stilettos as you'll only end up sinking in the lawn.  

• the dress code:  if the the bride and groom have established a dress code - stick to it.  so what if you're not into fancy dress, if the bride and groom want an elvis-style wedding, bring out your bejewelled bellbottoms and show them some love and respect! it's fair to say that some dress codes like 'smart-casual' tend to be a bit vague, but as the great oscar wilde once said, "you can never be overdressed or overeducated."

• the outfit's mileage: in this day and age, a wedding invitation can sometimes send shivers down one's spine while calculating the expenses it can bring about, especially if the entire family is invited or if the invitation is followed by a few others.  it is, therefore important to think how much wear you can get of an outfit.  we're not all celebrities, so it's not a sin if one wears the same outfit twice.  if you're invited to two or more weddings where the guests will be in common, you might want to consider buying a block colour dress and changing the accessories to create a completely different look.  if you only have one wedding, think of how you can dress up the outfit for the wedding, and dress it down for a more casual affair.  it's all about being clever, not thrifty! check out these outfit ideas i created on polyvore:

one dress: two outfits by tikkamars featuring a bangle bracelet

one dress: two outfits by tikkamars featuring embroidered handbags

hope you enjoyed that ... and please wish me luck for my first polish wedding! i need to brace myself for all the vodka i'm sure will be flowing *grin* if you've ever been to a polish wedding, let me know ... any tips are more than welcome! much love!

confession #000034

...or, my other passion

i've often written about my two main passions in life: fashion and dieting.  this blog was actually triggered by the latter and evolved to incorporate the former as well.  but i don't write much about one other passion that i have inherited: art.  

with my dad being a truly talented artist, venturing in various art media and forms, continually developing his style, i couldn't help but grow up in an environment where art is as vital as the air that one breathes.  as a little child, i recall visiting museums with my dad and learning - willingly or otherwise - about the great renaissance artists, their unique styles, and the various movements that have patterned the history of art to date.  i don't think i have inherited his talent, even though i do try and i have taken a few lessons here and there.  if the talent is there, i have neglected nurturing it.  but i have certainly not neglected my interest in the subject.  

so much so, that just a few weeks ago, i bought myself a flight to london with the primary intention of visiting the roy liechtenstein retrospective currently exhibited at the tate modern.  i had never done this before - and it was an exhilarating feeling clicking 'buy now' on the airline website, knowing that in a few weeks i'll be looking at one of my favourites.  i am edging to experience again the thrill, to feel my eyes welling up in the same way they did when i visited leonardo's lady with the ermine at wawel castle last october, or when i saw warhol's marilyn monroe in january.

just about to tear up before the lady ...

oh, marilyn

i guess, this is where my dad and i differ.  he appreciates my excitement at seeing a warhol, liechtenstein, rothko, kahlo and so on, because he experiences it every time he sees a da vinci, raphael, titian or preti.  but he can't quite classify them in the same category of artists with a capital, bold 'a' as he does the more classic or traditional ones.  it's a matter of taste really, and the more varied the taste, the more heated and enjoyable our discussions about classic vs modern art are.  

lastly, i must mention that this post is inspired both by the realisation that i don't mention my dad enough in this blog, as well as by messy nessy's post on an exhibition revealing frida kahlo's wardrobe.  oh what i wouldn't give to visit this exhibition! had it been anywhere in europe i'd probably already be on skyscanner checking out the cheapest flights ... but mexico? i think i have to restrain myself on that.

(for those who understand italian) this is what my dad and i sound like discussing modern art ...

confession #000033

...or some of the things i learnt so far in life

today allow me to bring you a collection of random thoughts on things i learnt in my *mumble* thirty-three years on planet earth.  i'm sure that there are many more that i learnt, and many more which i still need to learn, but i think, for the time being, these somewhat suffice!

• opportunities very rarely knock twice

if an opportunity arises, go for it.  don't second guess.  give it a shot.  if it doesn't work out, at least you know you've tried.  if you miss it, you'll only have yourself to blame.

• work requires 3 p's: passion, perseverance and a good dose of (chocolate covered) peanuts

find the job you're passionate about or where at least one of your tasks is that which you love to love doing.  it won't ever be easy-going. deadlines, stress, conflicts with colleagues and the lot would make you think about quitting but keep going at it if you really love it.  where do the peanuts come in? well, you do need proteins and sugars to get through a nine hour day ... 

• believe in yourself, have an ego but be humble

you are not a world ruler, but you can rule your little bubble.  shed people who break down your personal beliefs and security - you don't need them in your life.  be your own person, believe in your skills and talents, but don't let pride get to your head.  there are another 699,999,999,999,999 people in the world just like you. 

• absence does make the heart grow fonder 

moving out of my parents' home and living abroad has made the world of difference in my relationship with my family and friends.  i truly look forward to seeing them whenever i visit and little differences which used to turn into arguments are easily brushed aside to leave room for the limited quality time.

• true friends are those who can spend months or years apart but whenever they meet, it's like they were having a coffee just the day before. 

i've a handful of friends whom i meet maybe three times a year at most, but every time we do, we bring the house down ... just like some of us used to do in our sixth form years (a good seventeen years ago that is!)  wherever i go in the world, regardless of how long it takes for us to catch up, i know i'll always find a wise or comforting word from them.

the annual gathering ... 13 years of friendship and counting ...

• you will, inevitably turn into your mother

how many times have you told yourself 'i shudder to think i'll be as finicky / nagging / strict etc etc as my mom'? forget it, you will be.  i've slowly realised i've a little obsession with housekeeping, giving un-asked-for advice, and insisting that the toothpaste is squeezed from the bottom, not from the middle.  all things i've inherited from my mom.  i often catch myself saying one of her phrases.  the bottom line is, she's taught me a lot even though i never wanted to admit it or acknowledge it. and i love her for it. 

me and my mom in krakow

• it's not the (black) colour of your outfit that will make you look slim, it's the cut and the fit

so what if you're wearing head-to-toe black? if your clothes aren't letting you breathe and your muffin top or thunder thighs are on show, you're still not looking slimmer than you are sorry! get something that fits well and skims over the nasty bits and let the complements flow. 

• too much make-up never suited anyone (except drag queens)

i'm known for the extensive make-up collection i have but oddly enough, if you look into my make-up bag, you'll mostly find concealers and powders.  focus on making your skin look flawless and then just add a nice red lip or a smouldering smokey eye - but not both together.  always remember the 'less is more' dictum. 

• have a hobby, or two or three ... 

paint, read, play, travel, knit ... whatever you do, do something! 'all work and no play makes jack/jill a dull boy/girl.' not only will such hobby or interest make you grow as a person, but it will also open up another world of like-minded aficionados whom you can meet at clubs or online and make you all the more interesting for those around you.

if i'm there, there's a camera as well

• bitterness doesn't become you

don't let yourself turn bitter about anything - a relationship's failure, work-related stress, a friend's misunderstanding ... bitterness can only lead to resentment and that can in turn only lead you to a negative place in your bubble.  evaluate everything and don't over-read situations ... just listen to your heart and move on. 

do you have any pearls of wisdom which you feel you've learnt over the years?! let me know xx