Airport - part II

Unless you want to spend some extra money on getting an allocated seat with Ryan Air, you will have to join the queue. And the queue starts forming early. I am usually not bothered about where I sit, especially when flying alone. But this time I only had hand luggage - to save my employer £50 - and as most people are trying to save money, it becomes a bit of a hassle to find space for one's suitcase.

When I arrived there already was a considerable queue - which doubled by the time we were ready to board. When this joker comes along and thinks it's a good idea to jump the queue. In all fairness he asked the girl behind me, whether it would be OK, to just sneak in in front of her. For some unknown reason, she said yes. To then complain about it in German to her friends. Joker-boy wanted to know whether there was a problem. When he then informed her that he had done this LOADS of times and always got away, I gave him a piece of my mind: I asked him whether he was proud of it and tried to explain that this really wasn't very fair to all the other people in the queue behind him. He then came up with some nonsense about having had bad news that morning. By that time I had lost interest in the conversation, so spared him the news that jumping the queue wouldn't get him to Graz any quicker.

He also had two bags and of course he was asked to put one bag inside the other, as they are really strict about just one piece of hand luggage. He then started arguing with the airline guy that there were only newspapers in that bag. And that matters because???

I was just glad he wasn't sitting next to me on the plane. He was just really annoying (you had to be there...).

To top off the day, it was pissing down with rain Graz (wonderful, especially after leaving sunny London). And the heavy rain clouds caused a bit of turbulence. When I say a bit, it was enough to freak out people around me. I was clawing my fingers into the armrest and was trying to distract myself.

While I felt incredibly uncomfortable during the experience, a feeling of relief prevailed after landing. so, there's progress! I would have normally been focusing on the fact that I still had to fly back and go through it all again. But instead it was more a feeling of: hey, this wasn't nice, but I survived!

I have a long-haul flight coming up in a few weeks. And I very much hope, I'll be OK and that this means, I can start planning far away holidays!

Newham London Waterfront Festival

... so that's where all the noise is coming from!

I'm still not feeling very well and have now also got a sore throat. I think I might venture out for the firework later tonight. But for now, I will just have to increase the volume on the telly to block out the terrible music!

Airport - part I

I'm working hard on becoming a confident flyer. And while it has already gotten much better, I am still far from being keen on flying. So, unless I am leaving the airport (and not in a plane), the airport is not my favourite place. I'm also worried I will miss my flight, which means I usually arrive super early - which just prolongs the agony, of course.

Anyway, last week, I had very foolishly scheduled an early telecall. And only later realized that it meant having to arrive at the airport at 7:30 in order to be able to take the call. When my flight didn't leave until 11:20.

After hardly any sleep, I arrived on time, managed to get through airport security and found a relatively quiet place to take the call. After which I then had another 2.5 hours. So, I decided to have breakfast at Whetherspoons. I never have breakfast. I just can't eat in the morning. But as I had already been awake for a few hours, I was getting hungry.

An unusual combination for me: sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs with pancakes and sirop. But it was actually really nice!

Only that my tummy is simply not used to food in the morning. And it made me a little sick... On the other hand, this distracted me from the fact that I had to get on a plane!

Flower power

Get-well-flowers - already helping!

Very, very bad timing

I had been looking forward to this weekend for weeks. Conference Care invited me to Chester racecourse for the horse race finale tomorrow - including a 5 course dinner and a stay at a hotel. Going to my first horse race had been on my wish list forever! mc had even agreed to miss his beloved team Brighton play Birmingham in order to be my +1.

And then I get cystitis yesterday. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afternoon and evening have been horrible as per usual. But I somehow managed to sleep a bit. I'm feeling much better this morning. But not well enough to go to work. And I really don't want to risk it getting worse by standing around in the cold, watching the horse race. And then having to travel in the car for hours...

I guess the good news is that mc can go watch the footy after all. While I will be having a weekend at home with lots of tea and cranberry juice and DVDs. And I won't lose (or win, of course) any money on betting.

Classic FM rocks

Courtesy of the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau I got tickets for the Classic FM live concert celebrating the radio station's 20th anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday.

The evening started off in style by me and my colleague getting picked up in a car from our office. We were greeted with drinks and bowl food at the Royal Albert Hall before the concert started. Presenters included Myleene Klass (that's when the flashes went off - despite it being forbidden to take photos...), Alan Titchmarch, Alex James (from Blur) and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

I don't know a lot (well, anything really...) about classical music and I was a little worried, that I'd fall asleep. But I actually really enjoyed it. The first half, more than the second part - possibly because the pieces seemed to keep getting longer and I have a very short attention span...

All in all a very entertaining evening with great hospitality (sweets during the interval and a car to take us home after the concert!)! And I came away thinking that I really should learn something about classical music.
Or at least start listening to Classic FM :-)

Overheard

Life as a scientist in academia is hard. No, it's the hardest! 'They' (not quite sure who was meant) would be completely f*cked without people like 'them'. Who work tirelessly and with so much passion. Nobody but a scientist would do that. And just imagine: they got 80 applications for just one vacancy. Just making sure that this was not being misunderstood, she added: that's a lot, isn't it?!
And it's basically impossible to have a relationship under these circumstances. Always working so hard and stuff.

No offence, but I'm not sure these people live in the real world!
Have they checked the recent unemployment figures?
Do they know any non-scientists, even?
And I wonder whether there is another reason - much closer to home - why they are single...


(sorry, I know the last bit is a little mean, but they were talking a load of bullsh*t)

Synchronised entertainment

Growing up in Germany meant that I watched all movies and series in the synchronised version. You really get used to the German voices of the actors. My Dad even knows their names. When I first moved to the UK, I actually found it weird listening to the original voices. They often didn't seem to fit properly as they were different to the voice I was used to.

Now, after several years abroad, this is now reversed and I often can't stand watching synchronised programmes anymore. The big bang theory and friends seem much funnier in the original.
The only exception is The King of Queens. Don't know why, but I prefer Leah Rimini's German voice.

Doner-mile

I've just been spending a few days in Graz (on business). And maybe it's just the area where my hotel is - very central, near the Jakominiplatz - but there is a Doner kebab shop at every corner. And in between corners. And dirt cheap, too: €2.50! Fancy names include McKebab and Euro Doner. But what I was most surprised about was seeing somebody buy a kebab at 9:30 in the morning!

From what I remember from Germany, these places didn't use to open until lunch time...

I wonder whether the kebab is to the Austrian what the bacon buttie is to the Brit.

It was a Friday morning after all. 

Kebab as hangover cure?

Crazy

On my last visit in Germany, I discovered this book: 8 Wochen verrueckt - 8 weeks crazy.
Eva Lohmann describes the eight weeks she spent in a closed psychiatric ward. It's not an autobiography, but it is based on her own experience.

Mind, a UK mental health charity, is trying to de-stigmatize mental health conditions. According to statistics 1 in 4 people experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. And even though so many are affected, it's still a taboo topic. The book touches on a number of different issues people are faced with - from eating disorders to depression and multiple personality disorder. It explains the difficult and lengthy path to even getting to the point to acknowledge that there is a problem. And to then take the necessary measures to tackle the issue. How hard it is to work on these issues, how difficult it is for those around the people who are affected.

Reading the book, I thought how valuable it is/would be to have a therapist, somebody who listens to you 'professionally' and who gives guidance. At the same time, I suppose it can be hard work to find the right therapist for you, somebody you can actually trust. I remember a friend going to a therapist for a while. It turned out that she didn't even mention one of the big issues she was facing at the time. Not sure whether it was out of embarrassment or anxiety. But if you don't talk about it - whether with a therapist or a friend - you won't get any help.

A very interesting read and I would highly recommend it. I don't think it's translated into English (yet) though.

Popstars??!

Watching the German 'talent' show Popstars. Is it only me, or can they not sing???
It's the finale and from the last eight they are now picking those who will make into the band, which they've decided to call Melouria.

And the jury is equally annoying.

Fight the pastiness

I'm naturally very pale. While my Mum's side of the family (and also including my siblings) tan rather easily, I usually stay pale - or worse, get a sunburn... As a teenager, I've tried the sunbed. And managed to burn my bum on several occasions... In my twenties, I experimented with self-tanning products. And primarily managed to get orange hands, elbows and knees. As well as patchy skin all over.

I think I might have found a product that at least provides an evenly tanned face:
Garnier Ambre Solaire: original intense - no streaks bronzer - dry face mist

The tan dries very quickly and the tan then develops over the next few hours. You can intensify the tan by having a top up the next day. I think it looks natural and gives a healthy look - rather than an orange tan. Only disadvantage is the typical fake tan smell that comes with it. And as it's your face, the smell is in your nose pretty much all the time... Oh, another disadvantage is that facial toner will remove some of the tan (at least the one, I've tried in the past). But overall, I would certainly recommend it. Don't go overboard if you are not using any fake tan on the rest of your body, as that's probably not a good look.

You know the winter is near when

... X-factor and Strictly come dancing are back on telly
... work is getting crazy busy in the run up to our biggest event
... even I get out of bed when it's still dark
... it's dark when I get home from work
... it's time to get my boots out and pack my sandals away (which I have hardly worn this summer - just like last summer...)
... it's getting cold - even in my flat which is usually sauna-like

I think I am having the winter-blues. I am feeling just so tired. And am looking forward to a telecall at 8:00am tomorrow. Which means, I will have to leave the house around 6:00am. Which means, that I will get hardly any sleep, as it will be a matter of: Oh no, I got to get up in 5 hours. In 4 hours. In 3 hours...

But I am looking forward to the weekend! Every cloud - and so on! :-)

That's me!

I don't have faults. Those are special effects.

Thanks, sis! ♥

Going dotty

Inspired by another blog (which I can't now find anymore...), I experimented with gradient dotted nails. To be honest, I am not sure whether or not I like the result. It's a little too much and overloaded for me, I think. But a good first attempt anyway (apologies for the bad quality of the photo).

One of THOSE other days

Only half a day in the office.
Afternoon spent in Brighton.
Sunshine, blue sky and the wild sea.
Meeting friends and going for a walk with their adorable dog.
Fish and chips at the seafront.
Seagulls beating Sheffield Wednesday 3:0 in a crowded stadium.
Seagulls are top of the league!

One of THOSE days...

Started off with a headache.
And continued with ... a headache. The same one, by the way.
And one of those not so good days at work.
And the usual idiots on the tube and DLR.
MOVE DOWN THE CARRIAGE!
Is it really that difficult?

You know the poles (is that what you call it?) on the DLR? I hate the people who just lean against them with their whole body to steady themselves, so that nobody else can hold on to them without getting their fingers squished by the other person's back. Especially annoying during rush hour. Today though, I witnessed something else: this lady was leaning against it. But not really with her back - but with her bum. And due to the size of her bum cheeks, the pole actually disappeared in her bum crack (to avoid misunderstandings - she was dressed).
I'm not kidding you! That surely is just wrong! Or is it just me?

Anyway - one of those days and it's nearly over and the weekend is upon us.
Time to rejoice!

Christmas come early

More than three months to go until Christmas but I am getting bombarded with offers from bars and restaurants around London who want to host our staff Christmas party. Swizzlestick (I love that word!) runs Pause, Clause and Patch - three cocktail bars and restaurants and tonight I was invited to the Patch Bar for a Christmas party tasting.

We arrived fashionably late and still early enough to get a seat in the downstairs bar area before it got really busy. Christmas decorations everywhere and welcome Christmassy cocktails. A good start! The canapes were really nice and kept coming seamlessly to our table: from salmon blinis, to cocktail sausages, turkey skewers with cranberry sauce, spring rolls and chocolate eclairs and mini-cheesecake for dessert.

The organizers came and checked we were all right but didn't even attempt to push their sales pitch on us. It was a really pleasant evening - and another reminder about the perks of my job! :-)

Post for me!

My Body Shop order arrived last week:

God save the Queen

I got tired of squinting at my mechanical bathroom scale, trying to work out how much I weigh and whether or not it is less or more than last time.

So, I finally replaced my cheap argos scale with this lovely digital scale:

I can see weight changes of just 100g! Which is making me stand on it several times a day at the moment. 

I'm sure this initial excitement will pass. Eventually.

Fiesta at the Southbank

I love Mexican food. MC not so much. But last weekend, I managed to get him to Wahaca.

Wahaca was founded by Thomasina Miers. "Tommi" won the BBC cooking competition show MasterChef in 2005, now has a TV show called 'Mexican food made simple' on Channel 5 and opened the first Wahaca restaurant in 2007. Since then, six more branches across London have been added. Wahaca offers Mexican Market Eating. We stumbled upon the Southbank branch on our walk along the Thames. The Wahaca Southbank Experiment is their most recent addition and will stay there for 18 months only before it moves on to another location. It's built from shipping containers and on the first floor, you can find a bar with great views over the Thames.

I picked two dishes from the Street Food Menu - British Steak tacos and the new potatoe taquito. MC ordered the fish burrito from the Platos Fuertes and a beetroot salad. I had a Horchata to go with it - an almond and rice milk with a sprinkling of cinnamon and MC ordered a Citrus Fizz Freshly crushed lime, torn mint & sparkling water. I really liked the Horchata, but the Citrus Fizz tasted primarily of sparkling water to me. The food was tasty, if a little too spicy for me (which is when the milk came in very handy). Staff was friendly but be prepared to having to share your table with other guests. The waitress also 'warned' us that the food was being freshly prepared and would be served whenever it was ready. Which meant that MC got his fish first and had also eaten half of his beetroot salad (which had been served second), before I even got my food... Not so sure whether this concept of bringing the food out in this way really works in a restaurant, where I would prefer to eat with my fellow diner/s. In any case, the food is good, the prices are low and even MC agreed to go back. Some time.

French Pizza

Leo (my trusted online dictionary) says: 
Flammkuchen: Tarte Flambee - a kind of "French pizza" from Alsace made from a very thin layer of pastry topped with sour cream, chopped onions and bacon

In Germany, I only ever had the frozen, ready-made variety, as I generally shied away from baking. It all seemed too complicated. I've meanwhile conquered my fear of the oven (more or less, at least), and I've made my own Flammkuchen a few times now. And it's actually really easy to make, tastes great - even if it's not particularly healthy (with the bacon and sour cream...).

I'm using a Chefkoch recipe. Here it is in English:

• 250g flour
• 2 teaspoons of oil
• 100 ml water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 pot of sour cream/creme fraiche
• 200g of 'Speck'/diced bacon
• 150g grated cheese
• 1 onion

Make a dough out of the flour, oil, water and salt. Following some of the comments on Chefkoch, I used a bit more water than stated. I found the dough quite hard to roll out, and I would have preferred for it to be even thinner. But hey, it was still ok.
Then spread the sour cream on the dough and place the bacon, onion and cheese on top. Instead of grated cheese, I used a bit of feta cheese and sweetcorn. Just like with a pizza, you can really use whatever you like as toppings. I usually also sprinkle spices on top, such as pepper and herbs.

It then goes into the oven for about 10 minutes at 220 degrees.

Nostalgia

Does anyone file their sent emails? I don't. Just don't see the point. Search function works perfectly fine, doesn't it?

Well, new rules at work mean that anything that isn't filed away will be deleted from the sent box after a year. The other day, I therefore ended up going through my sent emails from about a year ago. And got a little nostalgic. In June last year, I took up my new role in the meetings and events management. It was such a busy time, working overtime nearly every day as well as on weekends. Reading those emails brought back the memory of all the challenges and hard work. And it also brought back a sense of the satisfaction and pride I felt. Despite all the circumstances, it was the happiest I've ever been at work.

Compared to my current workload, I do wonder where I found the energy to tackle it all. I've just had a 2 week holiday, and feel I could do with another one...

The Almost Moon - and don't always trust the Amazon reviews

After Ravens, this is another example of a book I really liked - with not very good reviews on Amazon. So, judge for yourselves!

The Almost Moon starts with the revelation that Helen, the protagonist, has killed her elderly mother. The book starts with the murder and then goes on to tell what happens in the next 24 hours as well as revealing Helen's relationship with her mother, from early childhood onwards and her relationship with her ex-husband and children.

It's certainly not a classic story to "enjoy". But I was drawn into it and it didn't want to put it down as I wanted to find out more about Helen and her mother.
I didn't experience what Helen went through with her mother/family, but I could still relate to a lot of the emotions she went through. It didn't justify murdering her mother - there would have been so many other solutions. But I felt that I could understand why she had gotten to that point.

I feel that parents have a massive responsibility towards their children. And while they still have their own life to live, I feel that their children's welfare should always come first and there is no justification in the world for some of the things that parents put their children through. If you can't cope - get help! If not for your own sake, then for your children's sake.

Alice Sebold is also the author of Lucky and The Lovely Bones. The latter was made into a film directed by Peter Jackson.

The accidental landlord

Victoria Whitlock - the accidental landlord - has a weekly column in the Evening Standard. Every Wednesday I look forward to reading it: it's witty and I love her sense of humour, always happy to make fun of herself. I doubt that I'll ever be a landlady myself, but it's interesting to see things from the other side (as I'm still on the tenant side).

You can read her column on her website, too.

Mega points

I love loyalty cards. And maybe I am naive, but I really am not bothered that Tesco, Boots & Co know all about my spending habits. I am also convinced that there is no pattern in my spending habits...

Anyway, last bank holiday weekend (at the end of August), Boots had one of their mega points events, where you could collect even more points per £ spent. Not that I generally need an incentive to go toiletry shopping... For some reason, I really enjoy it and usually spend ages at the drugstore.

• hairbands - I always lose mine and as an added bonus there are some pink ones in the pack!
• VO5 anti-frizz shampoo: nice smell and my hair seems shinier. (this is the second shampoo I bought, when I was really meaning to buy conditioner...)
• Nivea light moisturizing day cream: comes with the traditional Nivea smell. Absorbs quickly and leaves the skin smooth. Includes UV filter
• Garnier eye make up remover: the best I've tried so far! Removes all make-up and doesn't leave the skin all oily as some removers do.
• Sure: the choice of deodorants is massive. What is the bloody difference??? There are at least 10 different deodorants from Sure alone... This one is meant not to leave white marks and so far it's been good.
• Olay night cream: I honestly am not sure whether there really is a need to use a different cream at night, but why not? :-)
• Batiste dry shampoo: again: a wide variety of different smells. In the end I went with 'fresh' - I thought that would be most fitting for a dry shampoo. I've only used it once so far, but it is better than the one I had before (Tresemme Instant Refresh), which didn't make any difference to my hair at all. 
• Garnier Intensive 7 Days body lotion: I love it! I went for the one with shea butter which smells really nice and it leaves my skin really, really soft. Will definitely buy this again!

Sunday lunch at The Two Brewers

After a walk in Hainault Forest in Essex we were starving! But you can always count on a pub being in the vicinity. And what a nice one The Two Brewers is! Despite the grey sky, it was quite warm so we decided to sit outside. In addition to the tables at the front, there is further seating at the back of the Pub. The outside has a bit of a modern touch to it and the inside is decorated in a traditional pub fashion with lots of dark wood and a fire place, creating a very homely atmosphere.

Service was friendly and the food was nice. It is clearly a popular place, despite being in a relatively rural area, far outside of London (we spotted Canary Wharf in the O2 arena in the far distance).

Our table :-)

Sunday Roast Pork with obligatory crackling, roast potatoes and yorkshire pud

Steak sandwich with perfect chips and salad

Sunday blues

It's only the beginning of September but I can already feel autumn creeping up. It's getting dark earlier and earlier and this seems to fuel my Sunday evening blues. And I don't like it. I have this undefinable, melancholic feeling in my stomach. I don't even know where exactly it is coming from. Yes, of course, I would prefer to stay at home than go to work, but work is very tolerable at the moment (despite my upcoming appraisal). It feels as if there is a cloud hanging over me, holding fuzzy memories which I can't categorize either.

I hope a good night's sleep will deal with it.

Scheduled creativity

I haven't spent much time on my jewellery recently. Well, to be honest, I didn't spend any time at all on beading. The other day, when I was actually looking for a beginner sewing course, I came across the Make Lounge. Based in Islington (just 15 minutes from my office - very handy), the Make Lounge offers a wide range of creative workshops, from sewing over cooking to jewellery making. In addition to running a shop which sells all sorts of craft supplies.

So, instead of the sewing class, I signed up for the 3 hour evening class 'Silver Charm Bracelet or Pendant'. One of the difficulties with making your own silver jewellery (I attended a weekend workshop about two years ago, where I made my own silver ring) is that you need a proper workspace as well as learning the various techniques on how to form the silver. This course used metal clay instead of silver. It's like actual clay with silver particles embedded in it. Once you've made your charm/pendant and fire the jewellery, you are left with silver. And you can relatively easily do this in your own home.

There were 7 other workshop attendees. We each got about 5g of metal clay - which is not a lot. You roll out the clay (like dough) on a smooth surface (we used a tile) and then cut out the charm. We used a variety of  cutters (stars, hearts, flowers) that you normally use for cake decorating. Don't forget to put a (big enough) hole in it, so that you can actually put the charm onto a bracelet! You then blow dry the charms with an ordinary hairdryer. Once they are dry, they will lift off the tile. You then use a babywipe (or dampened kitchen towel), to smooth over any rough edges. Once that's done, the clay gets fired. You can either use a bunsenburner, or a gas hob or camping stove. We used a camping stove. Put a firing gauze on the stove, lie the charm on top and fire it for a couple of minutes. Using a metal polishing brush and silver sanding paper, you polish the charms - and voila the silver appears.

Overall, I enjoyed the workshop and am quite keen on getting the equipment to try this at home. Staff was really friendly, but there were a few things, I wasn't too happy with:

• the price: the workshop cost £69, which I think is very expensive for what it was. It included all the tools and the metal clay. But we only got 5g each, which is not a lot. Yes, it's relatively expensive, but 5g cost about £12.
• there were only two hairdriers for the whole group. I was lucky to get there first, but I wouldn't have wanted to wait around for so long to be able to use one of them.
• the teacher broke one of my charms. Admittedly, I didn't make the holes big enough in the charms. When she was trying to enlarge them, she broke off a piece. Given that I paid for that piece of metal clay, I would have expected to be given another piece - but no such luck.

I guess at the end of the day, I was primarily frustrated that I couldn't fit a jumpring through any of my charms and that 2 out of 5 broke in the process of trying...

This is what survived

News from the footy

Brighton beat Burnley 3:1 and Frankfurt beat Hoffenheim 4:0.

I know it's only the second day of the season.
But it's great to see Eintracht Frankfurt top of the Bundesliga anyway!