- Lucerna (as mentioned in my last entry) was super fun!! They played all kinds of great music from the 80s and 90s. Some of it I'd never heard before but Beliza could sing right along (Euro-famous songs:) and others that I freaked out over, she'd never heard. So it was a fun mix. We danced with some drunk Czech guys and even shared our beers with them. No funny business, just dancing and a lot of air guitar. :-D
- Saw Sherlock Holmes. Enjoyed it but wasn't overly impressed.
- Tried to join a gym here with a couple of girls from the office, who are already going there. It's called "Contours" and is a 30 minute workout for women only where you go in a circle of machines. Sound familiar, America? :) Anyway I needed an appointment so I'm going on January 30th. I feel crappy since I'm walking a lot less, since all of Prague is covered in inches of ice and slush, so I'll try this out for a few months at least and then go back to my long walks around the city and along the riverside once the weather is nice again :)
- I'm going to Spain this summer with my mom!! We're still in the planning phase but it's definitely happening.
- Coolest thing ever - I am going to see Rachid Taha live!! We happened to see the sign to see him at Lucerna and Beliza and I had no idea that the other loved him. I never in a million years, when I first started listening to him as recommendation by Amazon.com, that I would get to see him!! He probably never plays on the US, but here he's famous. 700Kc for the tickets but SO worth it. Diana is coming, too - I played her one song the other morning to tempt her and in the first 10 seconds she was 100% in :)
Tomorrow is Thursday and I'm absolutely ready for the weekend. It's been a rough week at work. Though I will say this: much as I hate giving trainings, I really am good at it. And when they're over, I feel like I actually DID something. I do a lot of work every day but none of it ever feels like I'm really doing something somehow. I've found that two tasks (and they are broad ones) make me feel good about life: helping customers directly with their problems and making them happy, and training people, either internally or externally. I guess that's nerdy, but at least I'm not part of that vast percentage of people who hate their jobs.
Ciao, lovelies.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Sleeping quarters
It's Saturday morning and I feel great.
The week was a rough one, full of annoying questions and pesky tasks.
I had fun on Thursday night, though. I went out to La Casa Blu with Henrique, Mohammad (his Syrian friend visiting from France), Beliza, Martino, Naima, and Theresa. They have decent Mexican food. Not great, but okay. We had a nice time talking and eating and laughing, then we walked the center's icy streets over to Chapeau Rouge for salsa night (we had 3-4 dancers in the group, and all drinkers:). We stayed for about an hour total and then headed in our respective directions. I got home around midnight which wasn't all that bad for such a night out. I wasn't even tired the next day.
Friday came as quickly as it could this week and maybe it's that my years are slowly ticking by, but I was content to just make a nice dinner and stay home alone on a Friday night. I think if the weather were better I'd probably want to be out and about, but the sidewalks are covered in ice and the streets are covered in gray slush, not to mention the cold. So the idea of cooking a meal, having a glass of wine, watching a movie and playing my new computer game won out over anything else.
This morning Ikea was going to come deliver my new mattress between 10am and 2pm. I complained about my bed breaking (the slats falling down when you lie/sit on the bed) and they came to fix it. The same night it was broken again - this time I decided to just buy a cheap but decently thick mattress to go on top of my wooden slats (which keep the bed off the ground and give me some back support because they're angled), then my good mattress that I spent more on, and then another thinner but still mattress-like thing on top of that, then sheets and blankets. So they brought the new cheap mattress and took the bed away.
Before they came I decided to clean - I swept the floors (it was totally gross), washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom, and put a bunch of clean clothes away that I had lying around for a week or so. They came and went pretty quickly, and I put together the new "bed". Guess what? It's more comfortable than when I had a real bed.
This whole thing makes me want to put a pea underneath everything to see if I can feel it. Nobody's slept on top of this many mattresses since that princess.
Tonight I have plans to go to a place called Lucerna that will be playing 80s-90s music. I have a nice group going - Diana, Beliza, Gabriela, and MAYBE Henrique and Mohammad, and also MAYBE Martino. We'll see. Either way it has the makings of a good night already, for how rested and happy I'm feeling today.
Life is good.
The week was a rough one, full of annoying questions and pesky tasks.
I had fun on Thursday night, though. I went out to La Casa Blu with Henrique, Mohammad (his Syrian friend visiting from France), Beliza, Martino, Naima, and Theresa. They have decent Mexican food. Not great, but okay. We had a nice time talking and eating and laughing, then we walked the center's icy streets over to Chapeau Rouge for salsa night (we had 3-4 dancers in the group, and all drinkers:). We stayed for about an hour total and then headed in our respective directions. I got home around midnight which wasn't all that bad for such a night out. I wasn't even tired the next day.
Friday came as quickly as it could this week and maybe it's that my years are slowly ticking by, but I was content to just make a nice dinner and stay home alone on a Friday night. I think if the weather were better I'd probably want to be out and about, but the sidewalks are covered in ice and the streets are covered in gray slush, not to mention the cold. So the idea of cooking a meal, having a glass of wine, watching a movie and playing my new computer game won out over anything else.
This morning Ikea was going to come deliver my new mattress between 10am and 2pm. I complained about my bed breaking (the slats falling down when you lie/sit on the bed) and they came to fix it. The same night it was broken again - this time I decided to just buy a cheap but decently thick mattress to go on top of my wooden slats (which keep the bed off the ground and give me some back support because they're angled), then my good mattress that I spent more on, and then another thinner but still mattress-like thing on top of that, then sheets and blankets. So they brought the new cheap mattress and took the bed away.
Before they came I decided to clean - I swept the floors (it was totally gross), washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom, and put a bunch of clean clothes away that I had lying around for a week or so. They came and went pretty quickly, and I put together the new "bed". Guess what? It's more comfortable than when I had a real bed.
This whole thing makes me want to put a pea underneath everything to see if I can feel it. Nobody's slept on top of this many mattresses since that princess.
Tonight I have plans to go to a place called Lucerna that will be playing 80s-90s music. I have a nice group going - Diana, Beliza, Gabriela, and MAYBE Henrique and Mohammad, and also MAYBE Martino. We'll see. Either way it has the makings of a good night already, for how rested and happy I'm feeling today.
Life is good.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
In the swing of things
I guess I'm fully back in my Prague rhythm now.
The first week back to work was, thank goodness, an easy one. I only worked Wednesday through Friday and nothing crashed or went crazy, and at times I was downright bored because there just wasn't anything to do so I just took calls and caught up on things with my colleagues.
Since I came back I had every intention of going out with Henrique and his friend on Friday night. But Friday rolled around and so did the snow. It was falling, but nothing was on the ground yet, when I left for work in the morning. It continued to fall ALL DAY, nonstop, and by the time I left work there were a couple inches on the ground. It kept going, and going, and going. Wild horses could not have dragged me out of my house. I don't know if Henrique ended up doing the same since I didn't hear from him even though we had plans to hang out (he was sick anyway) so he might have had the same feeling.
Saturday I got up relatively early and met Beliza at 1pm. I had to go to Ikea to take care of the final return (exchange) of my bed - I decided to just get rid of it and make a bed on the floor. Naima warned me about mold if you just have a mattress on the floor, but I have these wooden things that will let air in underneath the mattress so I think it should be okay. I decided to exchange the bed and basically get my money back, and then purchase another mattress in its place to give me more cushion between me and the floor, and to make my sleeping surface a big higher off the ground. I think it will be comfy - it'll be nice not to be on my couch anymore, anyway.
Anyway, Beli was coming with me to be my translator in case Ikea didn't speak English. We went out for Czech food (I had a hankering!) and the place we went was soooo good. I had vrabec, which Google translator says is 'sparrow' but it was definitely some kind of pork. It came with potato dumplings and red cabbage, with some kind of thin gravy over it. It really hit the spot, as the snow had continued and we were trudging through a snowstorm all over Prague. It was so hard to walk - luckily we both had nice waterproof boots to keep us cozy :)
After that we headed to Ikea and the exchange was really easy. The guy who assisted me spoke English perfectly well, and I just paid the difference of 800Kc since the mattress I picked was more expensive than the bed I'm returning. They'll call me about delivery sometime this week, so I'm all set.
We didn't quite want to go home yet so we went to Palladium mall to walk around a bit. Beli saw a dress in a window at Benetton in Novy Smichov mall, but they didn't have it inside the store. So we went to find it in this mall but they didn't have a Benetton at all, so we just had a coffee (an Americano for me, cappucino for her:) and we shared two desserts - chocolate mousse cake and cheesecake, which looked like American cheesecake from afar but it was not, and would have been delicious if it had fruit on it or something, but it did not :( Oh well.
We went our separate ways after that and I went home and bummed around, took a small nap, and then trudged through the snow to go out to a club. I left with plenty of time but just missed the tram that would take me to Starometska from Narodni Divadlo, so I figured, it's only one stop away, I will just walk and get there faster (I arrived at Narodni Divadlo at 11:10pm, was supposed to meet Katy and co. at 11:15pm, and there wasn't another tram until 11:29pm, so I had no choice!) Well, one stop was a lot farther than I thought. I ended up being pretty late anyway, and walking in that much snow is like walking through slippery cold sand, but it's ok, we made it. Katy, Derrick, and Katy's friend Denisa (a Czech girl who is SO NICE and a lot of fun!) were my party for the night. We went to a club called Lavka which didn't get too crowded but had a fantastic DJ and we had a blast anyway because we just danced with ourselves :)
After that we played in the snow outside a bit, then caught a cab to Rincon Latino, where there was still a big party going on. I danced with Denisa and Derrick passed out on a couch, and we stayed for about an hour or so before we decided we were tired and wanted to go home. I took a cab - it was so cold and so snowy - there was no way I was going to walk up my hill in that :) 140 Kc was totally worth it.
Today I was lazy almost all day. I got home around 5:30am and got to bed around 6, and I had to wake up at 9am to watch an auction from home (FML). After that I went back to sleep, then got up, decided I was still tired, went back to sleep again, then watched a movie. At that point it was 6pm and I had done NOTHING all day, so finally I got myself to get up, take a shower, clean the kitchen and reorganize some things, do some laundry, and cleaned out my closet to get rid of a few things I don't want anymore and reorganize that, too. Still to come tonight: cleaning the bathroom/shower, sweeping the floors. Tomorrow (maybe), scrubbing the floors.
That is, unless Beli wants to go see a movie, which I'd totally be down with :)
The first week back to work was, thank goodness, an easy one. I only worked Wednesday through Friday and nothing crashed or went crazy, and at times I was downright bored because there just wasn't anything to do so I just took calls and caught up on things with my colleagues.
Since I came back I had every intention of going out with Henrique and his friend on Friday night. But Friday rolled around and so did the snow. It was falling, but nothing was on the ground yet, when I left for work in the morning. It continued to fall ALL DAY, nonstop, and by the time I left work there were a couple inches on the ground. It kept going, and going, and going. Wild horses could not have dragged me out of my house. I don't know if Henrique ended up doing the same since I didn't hear from him even though we had plans to hang out (he was sick anyway) so he might have had the same feeling.
Saturday I got up relatively early and met Beliza at 1pm. I had to go to Ikea to take care of the final return (exchange) of my bed - I decided to just get rid of it and make a bed on the floor. Naima warned me about mold if you just have a mattress on the floor, but I have these wooden things that will let air in underneath the mattress so I think it should be okay. I decided to exchange the bed and basically get my money back, and then purchase another mattress in its place to give me more cushion between me and the floor, and to make my sleeping surface a big higher off the ground. I think it will be comfy - it'll be nice not to be on my couch anymore, anyway.
Anyway, Beli was coming with me to be my translator in case Ikea didn't speak English. We went out for Czech food (I had a hankering!) and the place we went was soooo good. I had vrabec, which Google translator says is 'sparrow' but it was definitely some kind of pork. It came with potato dumplings and red cabbage, with some kind of thin gravy over it. It really hit the spot, as the snow had continued and we were trudging through a snowstorm all over Prague. It was so hard to walk - luckily we both had nice waterproof boots to keep us cozy :)
After that we headed to Ikea and the exchange was really easy. The guy who assisted me spoke English perfectly well, and I just paid the difference of 800Kc since the mattress I picked was more expensive than the bed I'm returning. They'll call me about delivery sometime this week, so I'm all set.
We didn't quite want to go home yet so we went to Palladium mall to walk around a bit. Beli saw a dress in a window at Benetton in Novy Smichov mall, but they didn't have it inside the store. So we went to find it in this mall but they didn't have a Benetton at all, so we just had a coffee (an Americano for me, cappucino for her:) and we shared two desserts - chocolate mousse cake and cheesecake, which looked like American cheesecake from afar but it was not, and would have been delicious if it had fruit on it or something, but it did not :( Oh well.
We went our separate ways after that and I went home and bummed around, took a small nap, and then trudged through the snow to go out to a club. I left with plenty of time but just missed the tram that would take me to Starometska from Narodni Divadlo, so I figured, it's only one stop away, I will just walk and get there faster (I arrived at Narodni Divadlo at 11:10pm, was supposed to meet Katy and co. at 11:15pm, and there wasn't another tram until 11:29pm, so I had no choice!) Well, one stop was a lot farther than I thought. I ended up being pretty late anyway, and walking in that much snow is like walking through slippery cold sand, but it's ok, we made it. Katy, Derrick, and Katy's friend Denisa (a Czech girl who is SO NICE and a lot of fun!) were my party for the night. We went to a club called Lavka which didn't get too crowded but had a fantastic DJ and we had a blast anyway because we just danced with ourselves :)
After that we played in the snow outside a bit, then caught a cab to Rincon Latino, where there was still a big party going on. I danced with Denisa and Derrick passed out on a couch, and we stayed for about an hour or so before we decided we were tired and wanted to go home. I took a cab - it was so cold and so snowy - there was no way I was going to walk up my hill in that :) 140 Kc was totally worth it.
Today I was lazy almost all day. I got home around 5:30am and got to bed around 6, and I had to wake up at 9am to watch an auction from home (FML). After that I went back to sleep, then got up, decided I was still tired, went back to sleep again, then watched a movie. At that point it was 6pm and I had done NOTHING all day, so finally I got myself to get up, take a shower, clean the kitchen and reorganize some things, do some laundry, and cleaned out my closet to get rid of a few things I don't want anymore and reorganize that, too. Still to come tonight: cleaning the bathroom/shower, sweeping the floors. Tomorrow (maybe), scrubbing the floors.
That is, unless Beli wants to go see a movie, which I'd totally be down with :)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Back from the USA
I hope everyone can understand why I didn't make any updates from the US - I was way too busy having fun and seeing everybody to update a silly blog :) It was such a great trip but I have to admit I feel relieved to be back in Prague.
The flight there was hectic. There was bad weather everywhere but somehow I actually made it there on time, despite having two connections and overbooked flights. I went from Prague to Amsterdam to Detroit to Pittsburgh. Yes, the same AMS to DET flight that the Nigerian terrorist was on just one week later - crazy! I arrived without my big suitcase, the one with all my clothes in it.
My first night home was spent having steak dinnner (RED MEAT!) with Mom, and then I picked up Nalo from work. We had a lovely reunion, I had missed him so much. I took him to the bus stop the next day in the afternoon so that I could get some things done, specifically clothes shopping which I prefer to do alone because I'm picky and take a long time, and hate to feel rushed :) I got fantastic deals and stocked up on some cute winter stuff. That night, Mom made me belated Thanksgiving dinner, which was AMAZING. She is truly the best mom ever. Went salsa dancing that night which was kind of dead, but I didn't care at all - I had Tara and Nalo with me, and the three of us danced together and didn't really need anyone else. :)
The next day I visited work because I had vino night with Chris and Lisa. I got to see everybody, catch up, visit, and then vino night was fantastic. I missed those two so much, and getting together for our bitching-session was super fun. I drunkenly took the bus home and slept happily.
Tuesday my brother arrived, and the next few days were spent hanging with family and not going out much. Christmas was lovely but uneventful. I got an external hard drive, some gift cards to go clothes shopping, two great knives, pajamas, some other little things, and my mom treated me to a lotttt more stuff over the break (winter boots, which I desperately needed, some more clothes, etc.) Again, best mom ever.
Went dancing again that Sunday, which began my week of working overnight. This was the hardest week of my life, and nothing happened in it other than working and trying to stay awake, being a zombie for a few hours after I got home, and sleeping. The last day of that shift I was off at 8am, so I slept in my car for 3 hours, met Maira and Renata for lunch, went shopping at Macy's, and went home to sleep. Except I didn't sleep much - I did laundry, putzed around, and finally took a nap for a couple hours. Tara and I spent New Year's Eve at Matrix, which totally sucked, and we left around 1am. Needless to say, I slept like a baby.
The next night Tara and I went dancing, taking my sister along, and had a blast. Not a lot of people danced, but we had a ton of fun anyway. The next day was by far the best, though. I spent the whole day shopping with my mom, had lunch out with her, and had such a pleasant day. Then at night, Maira invited Tara, Ash and me to her place to have some drinks and then to go out to Firehouse. We remembered that Serge, a guy we work with, was having his birthday party there that night, so there were good drink specials and everything. The club was amazingly fun and we took a ton of hilarious pictures. We went to Primanti's, which was my main request because I couldn't go back to Prague without having had a sandwich from there, and it was probably the highlight of my trip :) We slept at Maira's place (took a cab - we're safe like that:) and then went to Fathead's the next day for lunch, which is another Pittsburgh must.
Tara picked up Nalo in downtown for me after that, and we went to my house and watched the Steeler game. We won, but didn't make the playoffs after all :( Oh well, there's always next year.
On Sunday I felt weird and nervous just about all day. I packed my suitcases but felt incredibly restless, like I couldn't relax. Tara came down to visit and that was nice, but then she left and I felt like I had to get out of the house. So Nalo and I went to Eat'n Park and had some food (we were both hungry) and I felt a little better. The next morning I took him to the bus stop and we had a very tearful goodbye, because we also "broke up" (though we're still going to talk and be like normal, but it's unfair to both of us to wait for each other basically for nothing, especially since I won't be home again until September. C'est la vie. I'm not really sad because we'll stay friends, and that's the most important thing to me.
My flights coming back to Prague were uneventful. I sat next to a Turkish guy on the flight to NYC and a Jewish guy (kosher meals) on the way to Prague. Neither one spoke to me, so whatevs. :) I knew I was at the right gate in JFK. Outside that area, people were still smiling, said hi when we were waiting in line near each other, made eye contact, etc. As soon as I got to Gate 12, it felt colder, nobody said hello, and I could feel the anti-social vibes all around me. Welcome to Prague :)
I was happy to see my apartment. Had lunch with Jose, did some basic (and I mean basic: milk, bread, eggs, butter) grocery shopping afterward, and treated myself to a hair dryer that I really needed. Having wet hair in this cold weather is too miserable to bear.
And here I am, back at work for the first day, and feeling content to be back. The next time I see anyone from home will be from them visiting me, which will be really nice :)
Here's hoping I manage to update this more often now!! I know I've gotten lazy about it :)
The flight there was hectic. There was bad weather everywhere but somehow I actually made it there on time, despite having two connections and overbooked flights. I went from Prague to Amsterdam to Detroit to Pittsburgh. Yes, the same AMS to DET flight that the Nigerian terrorist was on just one week later - crazy! I arrived without my big suitcase, the one with all my clothes in it.
My first night home was spent having steak dinnner (RED MEAT!) with Mom, and then I picked up Nalo from work. We had a lovely reunion, I had missed him so much. I took him to the bus stop the next day in the afternoon so that I could get some things done, specifically clothes shopping which I prefer to do alone because I'm picky and take a long time, and hate to feel rushed :) I got fantastic deals and stocked up on some cute winter stuff. That night, Mom made me belated Thanksgiving dinner, which was AMAZING. She is truly the best mom ever. Went salsa dancing that night which was kind of dead, but I didn't care at all - I had Tara and Nalo with me, and the three of us danced together and didn't really need anyone else. :)
The next day I visited work because I had vino night with Chris and Lisa. I got to see everybody, catch up, visit, and then vino night was fantastic. I missed those two so much, and getting together for our bitching-session was super fun. I drunkenly took the bus home and slept happily.
Tuesday my brother arrived, and the next few days were spent hanging with family and not going out much. Christmas was lovely but uneventful. I got an external hard drive, some gift cards to go clothes shopping, two great knives, pajamas, some other little things, and my mom treated me to a lotttt more stuff over the break (winter boots, which I desperately needed, some more clothes, etc.) Again, best mom ever.
Went dancing again that Sunday, which began my week of working overnight. This was the hardest week of my life, and nothing happened in it other than working and trying to stay awake, being a zombie for a few hours after I got home, and sleeping. The last day of that shift I was off at 8am, so I slept in my car for 3 hours, met Maira and Renata for lunch, went shopping at Macy's, and went home to sleep. Except I didn't sleep much - I did laundry, putzed around, and finally took a nap for a couple hours. Tara and I spent New Year's Eve at Matrix, which totally sucked, and we left around 1am. Needless to say, I slept like a baby.
The next night Tara and I went dancing, taking my sister along, and had a blast. Not a lot of people danced, but we had a ton of fun anyway. The next day was by far the best, though. I spent the whole day shopping with my mom, had lunch out with her, and had such a pleasant day. Then at night, Maira invited Tara, Ash and me to her place to have some drinks and then to go out to Firehouse. We remembered that Serge, a guy we work with, was having his birthday party there that night, so there were good drink specials and everything. The club was amazingly fun and we took a ton of hilarious pictures. We went to Primanti's, which was my main request because I couldn't go back to Prague without having had a sandwich from there, and it was probably the highlight of my trip :) We slept at Maira's place (took a cab - we're safe like that:) and then went to Fathead's the next day for lunch, which is another Pittsburgh must.
Tara picked up Nalo in downtown for me after that, and we went to my house and watched the Steeler game. We won, but didn't make the playoffs after all :( Oh well, there's always next year.
On Sunday I felt weird and nervous just about all day. I packed my suitcases but felt incredibly restless, like I couldn't relax. Tara came down to visit and that was nice, but then she left and I felt like I had to get out of the house. So Nalo and I went to Eat'n Park and had some food (we were both hungry) and I felt a little better. The next morning I took him to the bus stop and we had a very tearful goodbye, because we also "broke up" (though we're still going to talk and be like normal, but it's unfair to both of us to wait for each other basically for nothing, especially since I won't be home again until September. C'est la vie. I'm not really sad because we'll stay friends, and that's the most important thing to me.
My flights coming back to Prague were uneventful. I sat next to a Turkish guy on the flight to NYC and a Jewish guy (kosher meals) on the way to Prague. Neither one spoke to me, so whatevs. :) I knew I was at the right gate in JFK. Outside that area, people were still smiling, said hi when we were waiting in line near each other, made eye contact, etc. As soon as I got to Gate 12, it felt colder, nobody said hello, and I could feel the anti-social vibes all around me. Welcome to Prague :)
I was happy to see my apartment. Had lunch with Jose, did some basic (and I mean basic: milk, bread, eggs, butter) grocery shopping afterward, and treated myself to a hair dryer that I really needed. Having wet hair in this cold weather is too miserable to bear.
And here I am, back at work for the first day, and feeling content to be back. The next time I see anyone from home will be from them visiting me, which will be really nice :)
Here's hoping I manage to update this more often now!! I know I've gotten lazy about it :)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Homeward Bound
I am going home TOMORROW. This time tomorrow, I will be on an airplane.
I could not be effing happier.
I really earned my trip home and my week off this week - this was one of the most hellish weeks of work of my life, but everything magically worked out, and I feel really proud of myself. I was worried that I'd have to spend my entire vacation thinking about work and having to work even though I was on PTO, but everything is okay and worked out.
We had our Ariba Christmas Party last Thursday and it was a lot of fun. So much fun, in fact, that we all ended up staying until nearly 3:00 AM, and I stayed in the whole weekend. Well, in the nights, anyway - I went shopping all day on Saturday with Beliza, along with a nice middle eastern lunch and a coffee later in the day to warm up.
This week as I said has been full of work, and last minute things to do before my trip. But tomorrow is the big day - I am almost hugging Mom, driving around aimlessly with Tara and Ash, going for a drink to bitch about a hard day of work with Maira, and cuddling with Nalo.
It's going to be a really great two weeks :)
Adios, Prague!
I could not be effing happier.
I really earned my trip home and my week off this week - this was one of the most hellish weeks of work of my life, but everything magically worked out, and I feel really proud of myself. I was worried that I'd have to spend my entire vacation thinking about work and having to work even though I was on PTO, but everything is okay and worked out.
We had our Ariba Christmas Party last Thursday and it was a lot of fun. So much fun, in fact, that we all ended up staying until nearly 3:00 AM, and I stayed in the whole weekend. Well, in the nights, anyway - I went shopping all day on Saturday with Beliza, along with a nice middle eastern lunch and a coffee later in the day to warm up.
This week as I said has been full of work, and last minute things to do before my trip. But tomorrow is the big day - I am almost hugging Mom, driving around aimlessly with Tara and Ash, going for a drink to bitch about a hard day of work with Maira, and cuddling with Nalo.
It's going to be a really great two weeks :)
Adios, Prague!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Great Conversations
This past weekend was one long party. During this party I met a lot of people and had some really great conversations. Here are a few:
In Akropolis, there was a popper dancing his heart out. He was Asian but also Czech. Nearby there was a strippery ho dancing her heart out, too.
Me: Excuse me, do you speak English?
Czasian: A little!
Me: You should challenge that girl to a dance-off.
Czasian: A what? Sorry, I don't understand.
Me: You and that girl should have a dance challenge.
Czasian: A battle?
Me: YES! A battle!
Czasian: You want me to dance battle with her?
Me: More than anything.
Czasian: No.. she baaad dancer.
Henrique started to party-boy a guy on our walk home. He danced up to him and then danced away. I was left standing with the Czech stranger, who was probably around my age.
Guy: Your friend is funny!
Me: I know, he is party boy.
Guy: You are party girl?
Me: Sure!
Guy: It's nice! You are American?
Me: Yes I am! Do you want an American-style hug? (I give these out pretty frequently)
Guy: Yes it's ok! (we hugged) Do you want marijuana?
Me: No... thanks, but no.
Guy: Come on... it's marijuana! For you!
Me: That's okay. I go now.
(walked away)
Henrique: Hey Ujezd is right here!
Me: What? Nuh uh, we're in Žižkov.
Henrique: No! Ujezd is here! Right up ahead, come on! (sprinting away)
Me (to a random street guy): Pardon, ne mluvim česky. Kamarad says we are in Ujezd. I say Žižkov. Who is right?!
Guy: Ah, we are in Žižkov. You are right.
Me: (hugs guy)
Guy: Thank you.
We got on a tram to go home and there was a guy in the seat behind me, fast asleep. Admittedly, I was drunk, and I suddenly became very concerned that the guy would miss his stop.
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Národní třída. Příští zastávka, Národní divadlo.
Me (in a loud whisper, right toward the guy's ear): Národní třída!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzz
Tram voice: Národní divadlo. Příští zastávka, Ujezd.
Me (same whisper toward the guy's ear): Národní divadlo!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Ujezd. Příští zastávka, Švandovo divadlo.
Me: Ujezd!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Švandovo divadlo. Příští zastávka, Arbesovo náměstí.
Me: Švandovo divadlo!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Arbesovo náměstí. Příští zastávka, Anděl.
Me: Arbesovo náměstí!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Anděl. Příští zastávka, Bertramka.
Me: Anděl!! This is my zastávka... I have to go... na shledanou...
I don't know if he made it or not....
Then I went to Rincon Latino to use their bathroom. As I reached the corner to walk home I saw a stray dog that was obviously looking for food. I was about to go buy him a sandwich to eat, when an Italian man came up and started talking to me. I spoke Spanish in an Italian accent to explain that I wanted to feed this dog that was still rummaging around the immediate area. We went to the store and the guy insisted on buying 2 sandwiches - one for him to eat, and one for me to give to the dog. I never did find the dog again but we walked around for a good 30 minutes looking for it and whistling. I think he was partyboy too...
Then I started to walk home and got tired, so I sat on a bench at the bus station, where I knew a bus would not come soon but I just wanted to rest for 5 minutes. A few minutes later a Czech guy came and sat near me and started talking to me in Czech. I explained in Czech that I do not speak Czech, that I am a foreigner, and that I am here (just a few things I know how to say:). He spoke some English and then he asked where I was from. I said I am American. He said, "But your parents? You don't look completely American."
"My dad is from Palestine."
"Ah, I see. I do not like them."
"Don't like who?"
"Muslims."
"...why? Are you jewish?"
"No... but I don't like.. um.. how you say.. make explode."
"But not all muslims explode..."
"Well.. hmm.. maybe. This is what you think."
"No.. I don't think this, I know this. Not all muslims explode. Nobody in my family ever exploded, and they are muslims."
"Well, if you say, hey, is okay."
"You make me want to explode you."
"What?"
"Nothing, I have to go."
I got up and started to walk away sadly. He yelled after me, "Sorry!" but I didn't respond. As I was walking up the hill in the cold, the bus passed me by, his face whizzing past me as he looked out the window.
The next night at Cross Club...
Drugged out hippie girl: (walks by and begins to caress my face and hair)
Henrique: (laughing and pointing at me)
Me: (not knowing how to react and just standing there being caressed)
Girl: (still caressing my face and touching my hair) (mumbles in Czech)
Me: Ne mluvim česky...
Girl: You are veeeery nice woman!! (stumbles away)
All in all it was a great weekend. :)
In Akropolis, there was a popper dancing his heart out. He was Asian but also Czech. Nearby there was a strippery ho dancing her heart out, too.
Me: Excuse me, do you speak English?
Czasian: A little!
Me: You should challenge that girl to a dance-off.
Czasian: A what? Sorry, I don't understand.
Me: You and that girl should have a dance challenge.
Czasian: A battle?
Me: YES! A battle!
Czasian: You want me to dance battle with her?
Me: More than anything.
Czasian: No.. she baaad dancer.
Henrique started to party-boy a guy on our walk home. He danced up to him and then danced away. I was left standing with the Czech stranger, who was probably around my age.
Guy: Your friend is funny!
Me: I know, he is party boy.
Guy: You are party girl?
Me: Sure!
Guy: It's nice! You are American?
Me: Yes I am! Do you want an American-style hug? (I give these out pretty frequently)
Guy: Yes it's ok! (we hugged) Do you want marijuana?
Me: No... thanks, but no.
Guy: Come on... it's marijuana! For you!
Me: That's okay. I go now.
(walked away)
Henrique: Hey Ujezd is right here!
Me: What? Nuh uh, we're in Žižkov.
Henrique: No! Ujezd is here! Right up ahead, come on! (sprinting away)
Me (to a random street guy): Pardon, ne mluvim česky. Kamarad says we are in Ujezd. I say Žižkov. Who is right?!
Guy: Ah, we are in Žižkov. You are right.
Me: (hugs guy)
Guy: Thank you.
We got on a tram to go home and there was a guy in the seat behind me, fast asleep. Admittedly, I was drunk, and I suddenly became very concerned that the guy would miss his stop.
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Národní třída. Příští zastávka, Národní divadlo.
Me (in a loud whisper, right toward the guy's ear): Národní třída!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzz
Tram voice: Národní divadlo. Příští zastávka, Ujezd.
Me (same whisper toward the guy's ear): Národní divadlo!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Ujezd. Příští zastávka, Švandovo divadlo.
Me: Ujezd!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Švandovo divadlo. Příští zastávka, Arbesovo náměstí.
Me: Švandovo divadlo!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Arbesovo náměstí. Příští zastávka, Anděl.
Me: Arbesovo náměstí!!
Sleeping guy: zzzzzzz
Tram voice: Anděl. Příští zastávka, Bertramka.
Me: Anděl!! This is my zastávka... I have to go... na shledanou...
I don't know if he made it or not....
Then I went to Rincon Latino to use their bathroom. As I reached the corner to walk home I saw a stray dog that was obviously looking for food. I was about to go buy him a sandwich to eat, when an Italian man came up and started talking to me. I spoke Spanish in an Italian accent to explain that I wanted to feed this dog that was still rummaging around the immediate area. We went to the store and the guy insisted on buying 2 sandwiches - one for him to eat, and one for me to give to the dog. I never did find the dog again but we walked around for a good 30 minutes looking for it and whistling. I think he was partyboy too...
Then I started to walk home and got tired, so I sat on a bench at the bus station, where I knew a bus would not come soon but I just wanted to rest for 5 minutes. A few minutes later a Czech guy came and sat near me and started talking to me in Czech. I explained in Czech that I do not speak Czech, that I am a foreigner, and that I am here (just a few things I know how to say:). He spoke some English and then he asked where I was from. I said I am American. He said, "But your parents? You don't look completely American."
"My dad is from Palestine."
"Ah, I see. I do not like them."
"Don't like who?"
"Muslims."
"...why? Are you jewish?"
"No... but I don't like.. um.. how you say.. make explode."
"But not all muslims explode..."
"Well.. hmm.. maybe. This is what you think."
"No.. I don't think this, I know this. Not all muslims explode. Nobody in my family ever exploded, and they are muslims."
"Well, if you say, hey, is okay."
"You make me want to explode you."
"What?"
"Nothing, I have to go."
I got up and started to walk away sadly. He yelled after me, "Sorry!" but I didn't respond. As I was walking up the hill in the cold, the bus passed me by, his face whizzing past me as he looked out the window.
The next night at Cross Club...
Drugged out hippie girl: (walks by and begins to caress my face and hair)
Henrique: (laughing and pointing at me)
Me: (not knowing how to react and just standing there being caressed)
Girl: (still caressing my face and touching my hair) (mumbles in Czech)
Me: Ne mluvim česky...
Girl: You are veeeery nice woman!! (stumbles away)
All in all it was a great weekend. :)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Rat Cream
Today I was having a conversation over a pizza lunch with Henrique.
Me: Did you ever hear that fable about the donkey in the hole?
Henrique: No, I don't think so.. which one is that?
Me: I forget the details, but something about how the donkey is trapped in a hole, and he's old, so rather than try to get him out, the people start to just throw dirt on him to bury him. But with every bit of dirt that they throw in, he begins to climb up bit by bit, and he ends up getting out of the whole.
Henrique: Ah yeah, that's a nice moral. I heard that story before but not with a donkey.. it was about a rat who turned into a cream.
Me: (outburst of laughter at the absurdity)... WHAT?!?!
Henrique: Really! A rat in a blender.. he turns into cream... something like this. I can't remember the details.
Me: (still laughing)
Henrique: The rat... he is in this liquid... and there's a mixer, you know that thing that you use to mix... and it turns to cream.. so he climbs out.
Me: So the rat is part of the cream? It's a rat in a blender?
Henrique: I can't remember, I just know that the liquid becomes a cream and he climbs out.
Me: So the rat is okay? The rat isn't part of the cream...
Henrique: No, he climbs out!! I will find it for you on the internet. It's a true story.
Upon him saying in his most little-boy-man-voice, "It's a true story!" I really lost it. I fell into a hole of laughter so deep that I needed townspeople to throw dirt on me so I could climb out again.
If only I didn't have to return to work after so much fun...
Me: Did you ever hear that fable about the donkey in the hole?
Henrique: No, I don't think so.. which one is that?
Me: I forget the details, but something about how the donkey is trapped in a hole, and he's old, so rather than try to get him out, the people start to just throw dirt on him to bury him. But with every bit of dirt that they throw in, he begins to climb up bit by bit, and he ends up getting out of the whole.
Henrique: Ah yeah, that's a nice moral. I heard that story before but not with a donkey.. it was about a rat who turned into a cream.
Me: (outburst of laughter at the absurdity)... WHAT?!?!
Henrique: Really! A rat in a blender.. he turns into cream... something like this. I can't remember the details.
Me: (still laughing)
Henrique: The rat... he is in this liquid... and there's a mixer, you know that thing that you use to mix... and it turns to cream.. so he climbs out.
Me: So the rat is part of the cream? It's a rat in a blender?
Henrique: I can't remember, I just know that the liquid becomes a cream and he climbs out.
Me: So the rat is okay? The rat isn't part of the cream...
Henrique: No, he climbs out!! I will find it for you on the internet. It's a true story.
Upon him saying in his most little-boy-man-voice, "It's a true story!" I really lost it. I fell into a hole of laughter so deep that I needed townspeople to throw dirt on me so I could climb out again.
If only I didn't have to return to work after so much fun...
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