When life’s quirks puzzle me, I often venture into the garden – at least on a sunny day like today, to shake off silly thoughts from my head. We had a pretty strong storm last night, so I was taken aback by the incredible blue of the sky when I looked up towards our roof (where the planter in above pic is located)! The wind has almost died down, but it still is a bit chilly, so after a few minutes of gawking at the first signs of spring (I’ll spare you – I already posted so many similar photos over the four years of my blog’s existence!), I quickly returned to my sofa and the relative cosiness the heater affords us.
When I woke up this morning, I found myself in one of those pensive moods that come to me from time to time. I wanted to blog about it, but I still had the unfinished task of this week’s post for the Kempinski’s Discover Gozo blog, and after that I normally don’t feel like writing anything else… and to be honest I still don’t. It always boils down to the same subject anyway. Becoming suddenly aware of time’s passing, of being focussed on nothing but work, of side-lining life itself – and consequently being sidelined by it, too.
In fifty years you get to know yourself pretty well, though it’s a process stretching over a long time and involving a lot of hindsight. And so I am just now coming to terms with the discovery that when I find myself craving for gadgets (Apple’s iPad springs readily to mind) and/or other material stuff (such as new lenses for my camera), then more often than not it is because I feel such things would return some meaning to the life I’m leading… no matter how transient that “meaning” would be. That is the thought I woke up with today and that kept spinning in my head thereafter. I went as far as imagining a huge garage sale, including the cars, and followed by selling the house itself. And then what…? Living the rest of my life on a little island, far away from anything. Wait a moment… I’m doing that already!
Will someone please show me the way beyond square one?!
Posted on January 31, 2010 - 5:25 pm. 3 comments
Forgive me for the vulgarity, but it just tickled me… I’m stone-cold sober when I shouldn’t be, while I’m in urgent need to vent my anger – which need probably wouldn’t have arisen, had I managed to drown it!
The motivation to blog today came straight from the hand of some pencil-pusher inside the Inland Revenue Department, asking me to pay 233 EUR tax due for 2008. That includes 11 EUR late payment fee and interest… WTF? In 2008 I ended up with two FS3’s because I’d quit one job and started another – albeit with the same employer. The IRD took into account my earnings from the second FS3 – but conveniently overlooked the tax that was deducted. Is the country in such dire straits that they need to resort to robbing us “little ones” of a few euro, in order to boost the economy? I have no doubt that there could be people who would pay up out of ignorance.
But the real reason why this makes me so mad is that of course it’s me who’s forced to waste my time and energy to prove my case. And believe me, I don’t have time to waste. Nor energy, coming to think of it.
Then there’s the little matter of our washing machine that conked out a few days before our holiday. It still was in not too intensive care by the time we returned, and was finally delivered back to us yesterday – only to break down once more during the first of 6 wash-loads that have been gracing our bedroom floor for the past week!
Now it seems to be fixed… and we’re drowning in washed clothes that can’t be hung outside because of constant rain. (Yes, rain!) Let me rephrase that: washed clothes that shouldn’t have been hung outside. Because that’s what hubby did when he thought it had rained enough for the day. Then he scurried off to Malta for a dinner with friends, while I arrived from work in a particularly mesmerizing downpour – mesmerizing because I was sort of willing it to not be true, which seemed to cause it only to pour harder. I think I actually had my mouth open in wonder, while sitting in the car in our drive way…
I’ve been back to work for just one week, and it feels a little as though I’ve never been away. Now I’m sitting here, trying to make metaphorical lemonade – and I can almost – almost! - laugh at the lemons life is throwing me. The last one (well, hopefully!) for today: I chucked a glass of mulled wine into the microwave and obviously pressed the ‘hot drink’ button three times instead of twice. Judging by the lack of fog around my head, that not only left a dire mess in the oven but effectively destroyed the alcohol content. So I’m even too stupid to get plastered on a Friday night. If that isn’t depressing, what is?!
Oh well. If you’re still with me, I’m honestly impressed. Oh yes, I know what a yawner of a post this is. But I do already feel slightly better for it. So bite me, as my dear friend Kathy would say. Speaking of Kathy… the garden gate gang is going to meet for the Tollwood Summer Festival in Munich on July 21st – and yes, I already booked my leave – and my flight! I have a feeling that knowing that will be going a looong way to keep me sane in the coming months…
And now, folks, I’m going to attempt another boost of my blood booze level. Watch this space…
Posted on January 15, 2010 - 8:14 pm. 1 comment
It came… and went, in a hurry! Our long awaited holiday in Ireland, is what I’m talking about. Thanks to a very kindhearted and generous person, who arranged for our hotel accommodation in four different places, we finally got to see the country I’ve been very keen on visiting for a very long time. Added to that our equally kindhearted friend Mick and his girlfriend Sharon made us feel at home by sharing their home with us.
I had meant to write a little bit each day of our holiday, but that just didn’t work out. Instead, I posted photos on facebook on a regular basis, and if you wish you can see them here. Alternatively, you might enjoy the video I’ve put together, which is at the end of this post. By the way, Ryanair is by no means the worst to travel with. Having had the worst expectations – because of rumours and the harsh tone on their website – I was pleasantly surprised. In particular, it’s quite relaxing to be able to sleep without having to worry about missing the food delivery LOL! The only snag is that 15kg luggage limitation – and the awkwardly small size for cabin luggage (which is smaller than the IATA recommendations). Especially when packing for the return journey – who goes on holiday without a decent shopping spree?? – you’ll find yourself in panic mode…
We set off on 28th December and spent the first four days in Dublin, where we stayed at the Mount Herbert Hotel, a charming hotel on the outskirts (Dublin 4) but only three train stations from the city centre.
The amount of rain that came down on us in Dublin was phenomenal. For two full days it actually never stopped! We tried our best to ignore it, though, and even went on a bus tour (you know those double-deckers with open top?). It’s quite a good system; you hop on and off wherever takes your fancy. In theory, that is. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse (naturally) and by the time we came out, the weather had whipped itself into a frenzy. We were extremely grateful to finally board a bus (albeit without a seat for most of the journey!) that had leakages all over the place… we didn’t even dream of stopping anywhere else after that!
Eventually the rain stopped and was replaced by freezing temperatures. New Year’s Day was a bright and crisp (read: bone-chilling!) day – probably just perfect for the traditional New Year’s Day swim in Skerries… Are these people crazy??
New Year's Day in Skerries - air temperature ca. 1°C, water 3 or 4°C!!
Ardgillan Castle
On the same day we received our hire car and, with some trepidation, set off on our way up north – which really was a piece of cake, compared to what was lying in wait for our return journey! Our first stop was the Europa Hotel in Belfast. What a beautiful place! Although each of the four hotels we stayed in was beautiful in its own right, the Europa was top-notch, and our room was fabulous, overlooking the city of Belfast. Although it’s “only” a four-star property, it was no different from the best Kempinskis in this world…
Only very little rain came down on Belfast during our stay, a vast improvement over previous days! There’s one huge problem in this city, though: parking. I think we spent at least a quarter of a petrol tank cruising around in search for that elusive little space.
Belfast City Hall
From Belfast, our way took us further north, to Antrim Coast, where the lovely, quaint “Antrim Suite” at Ballygally Castle was our home for one night. The room was surrounded by windows on three sides, all of which had seaviews – I wished we could have stayed there longer!
Sheep on Antrim coast
Our final station was Londonderry – or rather Derry, as the Irish prefer to call it. The Everglades Hotel, where we stayed, is just under 2 km from the walled city centre. And when we woke up to snowy scenery we decided to walk, rather than drive. However, in Ireland there seems to be no law (as in Germany, for example) that owners have to keep sidewalks in front of their property ice-free. At times I was clinging to walls and railings for dear life…
Bridge leading into Derry
And then the drive back to Dublin… oh man! As it turned out, we’d chosen the worst winter in 30 years for our Ireland visit. That figures, doesn’t it?? I’m not sure I’d have gone for the hire car option had I known what was coming. Setting off from Derry in bright sunshine, the GPS insisted on leading us through all sorts of minor roads, and when we finally reached the M1 to Dublin, both hubby and I breathed a huge sigh of relief – only to be surprised by a tremendous flurry of snow just a few kilometres later.
Winter wonder land
Snowy nightmare on the M1 to Dublin (still frame of video)
But all’s well that ends well: we needed four hours to cover 200 km but arrived safe & sound in Dublin, handed back the car punctually without a scratch, and were greeted by dear Mick, who put us up at his house for the last night. By that time Dublin Airport was closed due to the “Big Freeze”, leaving us to wonder we’d make it home the next day! But instead of getting sick with worry, we headed for a last walk with Mick and his adorable dog Kola, bringing our holiday to a close.
Last evening beach walk in Rush
Again, luck was on our side… our flight at 6.25 am left on time – though unbelievably later that day, that airport was closed again!) A very enjoyable 20°C welcomed us in Malta. By now, it’s considerably colder though. I’m trying not to care LOL!
PS: The video is also hosted on facebook, and a larger format, HQ version is available there!
Posted on January 10, 2010 - 12:19 am. 7 comments
