More impressions from Austria

Recently found these photos on my blackberry taken during my business trip to Graz:

'lovelocks' on the main bridge in Graz

Not sure what this is, but it looked funky!

Opera house in Graz

lovely balconies and statues on just an 'ordinary' residence

painted houses

graffiti art

Museum of Art - not quite my taste

why is homeopathy much more widespread in continental Europe than over here?

Nuts!

Squirrels are everywhere in London. And aren't they just super cute? I took this snapshot a little while back in the estate where our offices are located:

to be honest, I'm not sure what it is eating but it's so adorable!

What's stopping you from making a new start?

I've used some of my nectar points on a subscription of Psychologies, a monthly magazine which otherwise sells for £3.40. That's relatively expensive, I guess, but I would totally recommend the magazine. Every month I have several 'aha' moments when reading the articles. I don't know whether this just means that I'm very much like the majority of humans, but in any case, I recognize myself in most of their articles.

In the January issue (published in early December) there is an article on 'What's stopping you from making a new start?' A question that I've asked myself a LOT of times. Having taken the little test, my result was as follows:

You feel hard done by
Your view: You've been badly hurt - physically or emotionally - by a friend, family member, colleague or lover, and they haven't made it up to you.

Your behaviour: Prone to bouts of explosive rage or brooding fury, you are hypersensitive with an inability to trust others and a destructive habit of turning events over and over in your mind. Your tendency to think of yourself as a victim who has been exploited, mistreated or neglected has the potential to dominate all your relationships, creating a negative view of the life and other people's motives.

Decoding the issue: No one expects you to be able to turn the page straight after a major disaster such as an accident, attack or illness; only therapy can help in these situations. If you're in pain - after a divorce, for example, or having been let down by a friend - this may be because you've reopened an old wound (prompting feelings of abandonment or betrayal). If you invest too much in a dream scenario or build up your hopes too high in a new relationship, the pain you feel when it goes wrong is way out of proportion. A series of minor setbacks can end up denting your confidence and focusing all your fears on a relationship or scenario that's going badly. This problematic relationship may then spiral into a full-blown sense of inadequacy or failure.

How to move on: Play the whole episode over in your mind as though you were watching a film about someone else's life ... . The goal is to take the sting out of the situation while identifying any benefits from it: most importantly, accept your responsibility for what happened and learn something useful from the event.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Does time go by faster, the older you get? If so, that's rather terrifying! I have no idea how the last 365 days went by so quickly. Thinking back to my resolutions for 2012, I have to say that I failed quite miserably on a number of them. I do however still blog! So, I guess that did work out.

I still need to think about resolutions for 2013. I know that I can make resolutions any time during the year, but it does seem like a good time to think about what I would like to do/achieve in the next 365 days.

But for now, I am wishing you all 

a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Three nights and not much sleep

I recently stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge for work. The hotel is located a short walk from Waterloo station and just across the (Westminster) bridge from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I stayed in one of their superior double bed rooms - and it was just a tad depressing that the room was probably the same size as my tiny flat...You enter into a living room with a sofa and a flat screen TV. There's another massive flat screen telly in the very spacious bedroom. The bathroom comes complete with a bathtub as well as shower. The whole hotel has a very modern and stylish feel to it with lots of artwork everywhere. Wifi is complimentary throughout the hotel and the rooms come with a number of light settings: mood lighting (how romantic!), full lighting and reading lights. I unfortunately seemed unable to control the different settings...

I always find it a pity that you really only just sleep in the room. And on this occasion - because of work - I only spent very few hours in the room. This is certainly one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in so far, and but there were a few issues:

• the shower cubicle stunk! I'm not sure what the problem was - it looked clean but the smell was disgusting - a bit like vomit and damp. I left the door ajar and the smell eventually went away. After the room service had cleaned the room, they closed the door again, and the horrible smell was back. Rather disappointing and quite a let down for such a nice place.
• Check-in was quite slow.
• Staff in the bar weren't particularly friendly and also slow. They also refused to put drinks on hotel rooms for a number of people, despite them having given their credit card details upon check in. And they didn't seem particularly bothered about sorting this out for the guests.

But overall, the hotel is very central, and the rooms (apart from the smelly shower) are really great. It's not cheap, but then there are no cheap hotels in London...

the living room

desk and TV in the living room

bathroom - I love the sink!

tea and coffee making facilities

the big and comfortable bed

Laundry and art in Antalya

Have you heard of crowd funding? A friend of mine has opened a laundrette in Antalya last April. The money she needed was raised by friends and family investing in her business idea. She is always looking to extend the business and has started by organizing art exhibitions in the laundrette as well as renting out guest rooms at her home. I totally love the idea and admire her courage and energy and persistence.

So, if you are thinking of traveling to Antalya and are looking for cheap accommodation and/or a launderette (which comes in handy during very hot summers), go and check it out!

The world hasn't gone under just yet

Selective hearing

9 people say 'well done'.
1 person complains.
And all I hear is the latter.

Lost in translation?

When I first moved to the UK in 1999, I subconsciously expected the British mentality to be very similar to the German one. After all, it's all Western Europe. During my studies, I primarily met other Europeans and - with hindsight- I think I was also quite naive in a lot of respects. Only in the last few years have I started noticing a number of differences.

Amongst those are most certainly the differences in communication. On more than one occasion have I been told that I can be rather 'abrupt' and uncomfortably direct. While I don't necessarily want to change my ways (I definitely prefer to come straight to the point than pussyfoot around), I am aware that it can cause issues. People might take offence and might also misunderstand what I am trying to say as it is said more bluntly than what people are often used to.

The other thing I have noticed is that I seem to take people way too literal. Personally, I believe you shouldn't say what you don't mean. Language is such a great tool - use it to express exactly what you want to say! This causes issues for me of course, as it is easily me who take offence for things people say maybe more lightheartedly than how I take it.

I wonder whether I will ever be able to communicate at a native speaker's level - not only in terms of vocabulary, and accent but more importantly with regard to all the other layers of communication which are packaged in the tone of voice and choice of words.
Most probably not. 

 

done

Sore feet, absolutely knackered, and relieved it is all over and went well. And the usual after-event anti-climax. Having worked for this for more than a year, and then in three days it's all over.

One more day in the office and then three luxurious weeks off.

Ah!

I nipped to the shop this afternoon and I was wondering why it was so busy outside - loads of nicely dressed people and masses of cars. Rather unusual on a Sunday around here.

Turns out that the Sports Personality of the Year is taking place at the ExCel down the road!
Damn it, I could have queued out there to catch a glimpse of Wiggins, Lineker, Murray & Co.
Nevermind...

Plaetzchen

One of the things I miss most about Germany is traditional Plaetzchen (aka German Christmas cookies). And unfortunately, I am not very good at backing myself. But I did have a go at it today. I found the recipe on Chefkoch. Not surprisingly, mine don't look anything like the ones on the website... I really did not expect them to grow this much!

before

... and after. Oops!

nerves

Tomorrow is set up day and from Tuesday until Thursday our annual main event is on.

And the nerves have kicked in. What I hate most about my job is the unpredictability - all sorts of things could go wrong. And you can simply not prepare for all of them, no matter how hard you try (it also wouldn't make much sense, as most of these things will not actually occur...). I just really, really hope that things will go smoothly like they did last year and that I will be able to enjoy the meeting at least a little bit.

And I will try to remind myself: what is the worst that could happen? Nothing much!
Let's hope I'll be able to sleep well tonight...

Trust me

I fall for it every time. Somebody questions me/my work - and I instinctively question myself, too. Back at school, in my math class, I was sitting next to P. Whenever he had a different result from me - I always doubted myself. In probably 99.9% of all cases, I was right. And he still had all the confidence in the world, and I was the one going through my work to see where I could have gone wrong.

And it's still the same.
And then I get angry with those people who instead of questioning themselves first, question me.
When really I should work on being more confident in what I do. Shouldn't I? Not least as I'll never be able to change the others.

workworkworkworkworkworkworkwork

There surely is more to life than work.

Why am I finding it so hard to channel my energy into things outside of work? It seems that only at work I know what I need to do. I find it easy to make decisions, I am well organized, structured and efficient. Outside of work I lack motivation, energy and focus. There seem to be too many options and I am worried to take a step in any direction, worried that it will be the 'wrong' one.

The year is coming to an end and as always the new year stretches in front of me like a blank canvas, like a promise of better and different times. And I know it's all down to myself.

counting down

Since opening registration for our annual event, a countdown on our website has been reminding me daily of the approaching event. It's down to five days now and a mix of different feelings is swirling around inside my head. Nervousness is joined by excitement, fear with pride. On the one hand, I can't wait for it all to be over, and on the other, I know that there will also be disappointment. I've been working on this for more than a year now - and the end of the event is the ultimate anti-climax.

For now, I am having my fingers crossed that the weather forecast is correct and that it will get warmer again over the weekend. I don't even want to think about the consequences of cancelled flights (as happened today at Heathrow as well as City Airport).

The Midland Hotel

As mentioned before, I got treated to a complimentary 1 night stay at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. It's just a 5 minute tram ride from Manchester's main train station. This 4* hotel is a Grade II listed building and is over 100 years old. The facade of the building is absolutely beautiful and the inside doesn't disappoint either. The lobby is huge and airy and was graced with a massive Christmas tree. Staff were friendly and helpful and I would absolutely recommend the hotel to anyone!

The pretty facade of this Grade II listed hotel

Entrance

big and comfy bed

I loved the desk!

Clean and spacious bathroom

the lovely xmas tree in the lobby

What we take for granted

Hot water. I definitely take that for granted. So, I got a bit of a panic when there was no hot water last night. And what a relief when I found out that the whole building was affected* and that the guy from the servicing company had already come out, on a Sunday night, within an hour of getting the call. And even more relieved when the hot water came back on within the next half hour.

Then this morning, the lift was out of order again. Walking down from the 6th floor is fortunately not as bad as having to walk up - and by the time I came back from work, it was all working again!



* I know, that's not very nice. But had it been just my flat, I would have had to ask my landlord to sort it out and I somehow don't think it would have gotten dealt with as quickly...

Manchester Central has the X-factor

For the first time, the X-factor final was filmed outside London. And as I had recently meet with the venue - Manchester Central - to discuss possible collaborations, I was lucky enough to be offered two complimentary tickets to Saturday's final show, including an overnight stay at the beautiful Midland hotel, just round the corner.

And it was really exciting! The evening kicked off with a reception for about 75 people at 17:00. Drinks were flowing, and canapes and bowl food were served. Service was brilliant and the whole team made us feel welcome and well looked after. Then at 19:15 we were led into the Central Hall which seated 10,000 people - past long queues of people, who had been patiently standing in the rain to get in. Our seats were to left of the stage; not quite as close as I had hoped but nevertheless with good views. Before the show Caroline Flack and Ollie Murs practised for the Xtra factor and the audience was given instructions not to take photos during the filming and to try to not walk around during filming either.

It became clear very quickly who the audience's favourite was: James Arthur received most cheers - while Christopher Maloney was initially booed. During the first break, the compere pointed out that it really wasn't very nice to boo anyone and surprisingly this actually had the desired effect!

During Jahmene Douglas' duet with Nicole Scherzinger, Nicole's microphone didn't work. So, they had to share one. She was visibly pissed off and I'm sure ITV's AV crew got a feisty telling off after the incidence. It was quite surprising, too, that nobody was near the stage to help out with another mic. Then during the final scenes one of the cameramen fell over on stage.

Overall, it was a great experience. We got to see Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson and Rita Ora perform and as it was a live show, there were only the ad breaks were nothing much was happening. The announcement of the decision at the end was nail-bitingly exciting - and I think everyone in the hall (or at least the vast majority) were relieved to see Christopher come third.

After the show we were treated to more drinks, cakes and a cheese board courtesy of Manchester Central.
Just a few more hours until the winner of the 2012 X-factor gets announced!

Manchester Central - before the crowds descend

It's Tulisa!

cameraman climbing into position

the very important autocue

The miracle of Bank

Why is it that there are always more people getting off the Northern line at Bank station than there are people getting on?

Any chance it has something to do with people being egoistic bastards who just do not move down the carriages?

One wonders...

Sightseeing deluxe

A friend from Germany came to spend last weekend with me in London. Not only was it great to see her, it's also always a good occasion to do some sight-seeing. Living in London - or really in any other city - I tend to postpone these kind of things.

Here's what we did:

• breakfast at the Victoria & Albert museum
• little tour of the museum - it's amazing! And so big!
• visit to the Science Museum
• Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park - my first time in 5 years and I was rather disappointed. There were just too many people. I don't know how you can enjoy being pushed around. Certainly no proper alternative to a traditional German Christmas Market
• Afternoon tea at Liberty (and a run in with a stupid and very rude woman in the lifts; why do they only stop on certain floors???)
•  a trip on the Emirates Air Line (aka the cable car)
• Sunday Roast in a traditional English Pub in Greenwich (I love Greenwich!)
• visit to the National Maritime Museum

View of Canary Wharf from Greenwich

Royal Victoria Dock

Cutty Sark

Cafe at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Christmas Goody Bag Alert

What a pleasant surprise! I had completely forgotten that the representative from one of the venue finding companies that we use from time to time, was coming by today to deliver a Christmas Goody Bag:
a bottle of spiced mulled cidre, a personalized desk calendar and a box of mince pies.

This cheered me up loads!

Lost in communication

I don't get it. Some people seem to be perfecting the skill of selective listening.
For weeks, I had been going on about a particular task. I don't even expect people to think for themselves. But continuously spelling things out, and things still not getting done is extremely frustrating. And causes a lot of problems, too, of course.

I am aware of the concept of sender and receiver - so where is it going wrong? And how can I encode my message in a way that it gets properly understood by the receiver? Or is the message actually being received correctly and just ignored?

1.5 weeks until holidays - I can't wait!

Glittery red

This Christmassy, glittery red nail polish was behind door number one of my Latest in Beauty Adventcalendar:

I like!

It's a reindeer!

My water decals ordered from ebay arrived last week and - just in time for our staff Christmas lunch - I tried the reindeer design:

I also used my Ciate bon bon polish for the first time. The above photo was taken after 4 days - and it was still looking good, and hardly chipped at all. I also like the colour - a bit different from my usual pinks!

Smooth you - snooze me

Time out has a number of vouchers for reduced massages and beauty treatments on offer - and there seem to be more in the run up to Christmas. Well, it is the perfect time to pamper yourself or buy gift vouchers for loved ones.

Today, I went to Smooth You for an Upper Body Bliss Package: back massage + facial + head massage. With the voucher this one hour treatment only cost £35 instead of £115. The salon is conveniently only a 15 minutes walk from the office. It's a hair salon upstairs with three beauty treatment rooms downstairs. Despite having worked near Angel for nearly five years now, I don't venture up north (of the tube station) very often. The salon is located on Essex Road and there are loads of nice pubs, restaurants and shops up there.

I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist. Unfortunately, I woke up with badly swollen eyes this morning. I've had this last winter, when the skin around my eyes gets really dry and swollen. Agi, the beautician, therefore recommended not to do the facial today as it might further irritate the skin. So, instead I had a longer back and head massage. And it was heavenly! I am pretty sure that at some point, I feel asleep.

The salon is very nicely decorated and clean and it looks all very professional. I always feel a bit self-conscious when using one of these vouchers, knowing that they usually charge much more for their treatment. But I didn't feel as if they treated me any differently. And I even got a goody bag (with a lip balm, a cream sample, mints and vouchers for some of the surrounding places) at the end! (and we all know by now just how much I love a goody bag!!!) 

Their normal prices are a bit steep for my liking, but overall, I would definitely recommend the place. The only comment I would make, is that the treatment wasn't quite an hour long. It was 55 minutes and I therefore always feel, I can't complain. But on the other hand, especially when paying more than a £ per minute, I think they should really fill the full 60 minutes. But today that was really just a minor complaint.

HIMYM

 

I love American sitcoms. When friends came to an end, I had to fill the hole! About 4 years ago I discovered How I met Your Mother. In case you've never seen it (unlikely, I know), this sitcom evolves around Ted Mosby who tells his two kids the story on how he met their mother. Season 8 has just started and they are still none the wiser on how he did meet her! Ted is best friends with Marshall and Lilly - first his girlfriend, then his wife. Barney is a womanizing banker and Ted's 'bro'. And Robin is the 5th person in the group of friends - she's dated both Ted and Barney.

E4 is showing episodes all the time, but I somehow don't seem to manage to watch them in order. I had ordered the boxset of seasons 1-5 years ago, and just got season 6 from amazon. And am hoping to successfully bid for season 7 on ebay (yes, once the ebay bug bites, it doesn't let go easily...). They make me laugh and cry and I just want to be friends with them!

Perfect entertainment for a lazy weekend!

Christmassy chocolates

The chocolates that were part of the ACC Liverpool goody bag are so amazing that I wanted to share them with you. Made by The Chocolate Cellar:

Top row:
Santa's Pies: Fondant and mincemeat in milk chocolate cup;
Marzipan: A rich almond paste rolled and hand-dipped in delicious dark chocolate

Middle row:
Hot Toddy: A dark chocolate shell filled with a luxurious whiskey and lemon ganache
The Heartwarmer: Plain chocolate ganache with mulled wine spices and a hint of orange dipped in plain chocolate

Bottom row:
Gilded Gingerbread: Home-made gingerbread combined with fresh cream and rich milk chocolate in a gold-dusted milk chocolate shell
Christmas Pudding: A combination of chocolate cake and milk chocolate ganache, topped with white chocolate and decorated with a festive cranberry

Great Expectations

Well, to be honest I didn't have great expectations after having read some reviews about the latest adaptation of Dickens' novel Great Expectations. The film gets released in the UK this Friday, but I had won two tickets to a pre-screening tonight at the Courthouse Doubletree by Hilton Hotel courtesy to Emerald Street.

To be honest, I had expected a bit of a reception or something. Instead, we were led straight into the cinema (yes, amazingly the hotel has it's own cinema!) and when the film was over, that was it.

I'm a little embarrassed that I knew nothing about the story. So, while I wasn't overwhelmed by the film, I am glad that I now know what the story is about! Some amazing actors play in the film - like Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Robbie Coltrane - but the film somehow just seemed to be a bit slow. Maybe it was just the original story with its various twists and violence, that I didn't like.

All in all, I still enjoyed it - not least as I love winning competitions (which doesn't happen very often) and secondly, it was nice to be in a cinema again as I hardly ever make the time to go!

Desk tree

I can't remember the last time my parents had a Christmas tree. It's certainly been a while.
Apart from my early childhood Christmases, I've never really been a big fan of Christmas. And I've never missed not having a tree.

On one of my recent shopping trips, I discovered this wooden tree at Paperchase. And for just £12, I had to get it! It comes with little Christmas tree decorations and bells and a star to top it all of.

And if you don't know Paperchase yet - do check it out for pretty and quirky stationary, including a huge selection on greeting cards and calendars as well as (Christmas) decorations.

007

I've used some of my Nectar points for a subscription to glamour magazine. The December issue came with a dark navy blue Nails Inc nail polish. And on Thursday, the OPI The Man with the Golden Gun top coat which I got over ebay arrived (super fast delivery, by the way!).

And I think they look lovely together!

Bella and Edward

I haven't read the Twilight books, I haven't watched the Twilight films and I am not a Robert Pattinson fan. But I do like this song:

Ricky's blog

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
I love Ricky and I would also love to have a monkey (butler).
Check out his blog.

And I am eagerly awaiting the Derek episodes!

A Tale of Two Cities

The Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) Liverpool hosted their annual London showcase at the Ironmongers' Hall yesterday. The evening was under the motto 'A Tale of Two Cities'. After drinks and canapes, Charles Dickens gave a penny reading. To be honest I had never heard of penny readings before. Apparently, it's a tradition made famous by Dickens where he travelled across the North West and offered the general public access to readings for just a penny.

I think I mentioned this before - when it comes to listening, my attention span equals that of a toddler... I just can't listen to anyone for very long. So, I have no idea what he read about - readings are really not my thing!

The reps from the ACC then gave a presentation about the past, present and future of the ACC. The ACC is located on the Liverpool waterfront. It combines the BT Convention Centre (the main auditorium holds 1,350 seats) and the Echo Arena with an 11,000 capacity. Since opening in 2008, they have hosted a number of very impressive events, including the X-factor boot camp and the MTV Europe Music Awards. Even though, the ACC was only completed in 2008, they are already planning the next extension which will be started next year and should be completed in 2015.

And the evening ended with more (bowl) food and a fabulous goody bag:

A bottle of red, a candle, a candle snuffer, a copy of Dickens' A Tale of Two
Cities, a cafetiere, espresso beans and a box of chocolates

Finger lickin'ly-weird

On the tube this morning: a woman licks her hand and fingers. It seemed that she was trying to get rid of some stains, which might have well been leftovers of food. But it was still rather weird to watch. One might rub one's hands or use a tissue, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone lick themselves in such a way... (not that I have seen anyone licking themselves in any other way either...). She was also licking and then rubbing her hand on her laptop-bag. So, if it was food, why would you want that all over your bag?

Very mysterious...

Malaga

I just went through some photos I took on my mobile phone. Here are some impressions from Malaga:

A selection of balconies

How do you build a building inside its outsides?

Interesting views - into your neighbour's bedroom, I assume

Yes, this was as greasy as it looks...

3-2-1 - MINE!

I only occasionally buy stuff over ebay.
I discovered the new James Bond Skyfall OPI nail polish collection and absolutely fell in love with the OPI Man with the Golden Gun top coat - an 18k gold top coat. But the price tag of £29.90 was a little off-putting... So, I went on ebay and started watching a few items.

I had totally forgotten how exciting it can get! Counting down the minutes. Then the seconds. Waiting until the very, very last moment to put a bid in. Only to be outbid...

Ah well, at least I stuck with my pre-set price. It's all too easy to get carried away and to increase your bids when other bidders are outbidding you.

And with a little bit of tenacity, I eventually won one of the auctions! :-)

(And some people should do their homework before bidding - why would you bid more than what you have to pay for the same item in a shop???)

I can't draw for toffee*

Therefore, I wouldn't even attempt freestyle art on my nails. I bought some nail water decals months ago from the Nail Delights website. Worried that it would be really difficult to get them onto my nails, they'd been in the drawer unused until today.

I had worried needlessly! It's incredibly easy: simply cut out the individual designs, place them in a bowl with water for 10-20 seconds. When ready, you'll be able to just slide it off the paper and place it onto your nail. Fix it with a clear top coat. If you leave it in the water for longer - it doesn't make a difference.

I think it's a really easy way to glam up your nails. I'll definitely be doing this more often now and already have my eyes on a number of cute water decals on ebay - including some Bansky designs!


* What an excellent expression! I couldn't find where it comes from though. Does anyone know?

Countdown to Christmas

The next four weeks will be the busiest of the year for me (have I been moaning about this sufficiently yet?). Given that I will have limited time to get into the pre-Christmas spirit, I thought it was only just to treat myself a little.

I came across the Lancome Beauty Advent Calendar - filled with 24 Lancome mini products, including perfumes, cremes and mascara. The calendar was launched on 1 October - and is already sold out! Well, you can still get it on ebay - selling at up to 3 times as much as the RRP (which was £70)!!! I might put a reminder in my diary to check this out next year.

I quickly found an alternative: the YOU Beauty Advent Calendar - a collaboration between YOU magazine and Latest in Beauty. It's on offer at £59.95 and is apparently worth more than £210. I've just ordered mine and will be blogging my sweet surprises from 1.-24. December!

BB - Beautiful Belfast

The pre-Christmas season is clearly a popular time for event invitations. After a dinner reception at Claridge's hosted by the Korean Tourism Organization, on Thursday night, the Belfast Convention Bureau recreated 'Little Belfast' at The Brewery, near Barbican. I like these showcase events. It offers the opportunity for face to face meetings with a number of venues and hotels. And making that first connection, makes it much easier and 'friendly' to develop a business relation in the future.

I've never been to Belfast - but that evening really makes me want to go! Everyone was really friendly and warm and welcoming. And while I totally appreciate that most sales people can put on the smile in an instant, I did sense a difference.

In addition to having informative chats with a number of venues, there was of course drinks, including a Guinness based cocktail (surprisingly yummy!), canapes, cooking demonstrations (food tasted delicious!) and entertainment from a gospel choir. I also got a photo of myself standing on the stairs of the Titanic and a caricature of myself. As it looks nothing like me, I am happy to share that with you :-) [I was very pleased, as I've always been too embarrassed and stingy to get one done!]

And the obligatory goodies: Xmas bauble, lots of sweets, Irish Whiskey, a scented candle by a company called Bog Standard - not really a name, I'd pick... but it is original! And afternoon tea - cakes from the Merchant Hotel. The chocolate cake was seriously one of the best I've ever eaten!!!

waiting for Leo...

Claridge's - Gangnam Style

Korea Tourism had invited to a dinner at the Ballroom at Claridge's. Having never been to Claridge's, I of course could not turn that invite down! The evening started off with a reception with delicious canapes, champagne and Baekseju - a kind of rice wine. Legend has it that the herbs used in Baekseju will make you live 100 years!

Several representatives from Korea hospitality also had stands set up and were happy to provide information about holding meetings in Korea.

We were then led into the Ballroom which was beautifully set up. Before food was served, we were treated to a version of Gangnam Style - performed by robots! It was absolutely brilliant:

Robots dancing on the table - safely guarded by the lovely lady in the Korean dress

Delicious food and wonderful service - just as you would expect at Claridge's

After dinner, a dance troupe from Sachoom - a Korean dance musical - provided more entertainment. There was dancing and audience animation and break dance moves and school-girl sexy moves. The latter made me feel just a little uncomfortable... But overall it was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to win one of the prizes (the main one being  a 5 day trip to Korea, courtesy to BA and Hyatt hotels), but we were send on our way home with a goody bag.

The bookmark is stunning!

And there was also a multi-purpose charger included - Korean technology!

A lovely evening. Great hospitality, fantastic food - maybe a few too many speeches...

zigzag

Inspired by the Polishaholic blog, I've tried a quilting design:

Nowhere near as nice as the one on the blog...
I used striping tape to create the quilting and used Nails Inc Motcomb Street (dark blue) over Nails Inc Hampstead Heath (red-ish).

My legs are too short

... for my chair.
Today our work space was being assessed with view to improving the way we work at our desks.

I have a horrible posture, especially when sitting in front of the computer. Considering that I spend a good eight hours a day in front of the PC, I really should make much more of an effort to change this. I suffer from lower back ache as it is, and can get quite tense shoulders and neck ache, too.

First off, we removed the arm rests from my chair. This enabled me to increase the height of the chair while still being able to sit close enough to the desk. Sitting higher, I now need a footrest though. She also suggested moving the angle of my screen and moving my phone to my left side, so I can more easily hold the receiver with my left hand, while taking notes. For my relatively regular lengthy telecalls, she also advised me to get a handfree-headset.

And last but not least, she noted that the seat was too long (= my legs are too short) which contributes to me usually sitting right on the edge of the seat. So, with a new shorter seat, I should be able to lean against the back rest which should help with sitting more comfortably.

It's going to be interesting to see whether I will be able to stick to the new sitting regime and how long until I notice any positive changes. In any case, there will always be a good reason to get a back massage anyway!

World Press Photo Exhibition at the Southbank Centre

The World Press Photo is the premier annual international competition in press photography and is in its 55th year. This free exhibition can be seen at the Southbank Centre until 27 November.

Photos include pictures taken during the fighting in Egypt and Libya, as well as photos of the aftermath of the horrific earthquake in Japan.

While the photos are of outstanding quality, the subject matter of most also make them rather disturbing and depressing. They act as a reminder of all that is going on around the globe.

I felt rather guilty and embarrassed on how quickly I had  blocked most of these events out of my mind. And also incredibly lucky and grateful not having had to experience any such hardship.

Inspiration from the shop floor

I discovered Anthropologie in New Orleans. A bit pricey for my purse, but they have wonderful, pretty things. I will definitely be visiting the store in London on Regent's Street. I loved the whole store set up and decor. And even found a dress in the sale: reduced from $148 to just $9.95!!! What a bargain! Unfortunately, now after the first wash, it already has a little hole. But I hope I can fix that easily.

I also discovered the following on a wooden box:

What would you attempt, if you knew you couldn't fail?

Isn't that a fascinating question? How often do we not do things because of fear of failure. Way too often in my case, that's for sure. And also: what is so bad about failing? What is really the worst that could happen? 

I think it would often pay off to be more daring.

Three day weekend

For the last two years, I've been carrying over loads of my leave days to the new leave year. So many, that I could have a three day weekend for the next 10 months. I had one of them this weekend - and it's great! I could really get used to it. Even though there are of course many advantages to taking two weeks at once off instead...

During this weekend, I've also decided to learn to say 'no' more often. The past week has shown, that no matter how much I work, how late I check and reply to my emails - it will still not be enough. There's just no pleasing some people. So, I might as well switch off completely once I've left the office.

Let's see how it goes and how long until I reach for my blackberry again...

Shopping spree

It was time for some retail therapy and here's what I got (photos crappy as per usual...):

H&M, £24.99

H&M, £19.99

H&M, £14.99 - denim shirts are back! I wish I had kept mine from the 90s...

H&M, £24.99 - with sparkly Peter Pan collar

Oasis - thanks to a £10 gift card from Look magazine: £8;
looks much nicer worn than on the hanger, too

Cute socks (3 for £8) and Moomin panties (£4)  from Topshop

Read some good reviews on Soap & Glory's Thick & Fast mascara, £10.00