Unknowingly well in doubt

After a deliberate absence of being logged off on Facebook some four months , today I decided to log on. Perhaps due to the fact that I needed diversion from data imputing hundreds of clients email addresses into Outlook Express. Fabiola who now lives in her native home land,Venezuela, was the first to catch me. She is planning a mega fiesta for her 5 years old daughter next year. Faby is always planning parties of some sort and really does spend huge amount of energy in getting it all perfect to a T. I met Faby some 6 years ago in my store in Barcelona. She had spent over 300€ on Kasmiran metallic floral hand painted bowls, serving pieces and to create the epitome theme, threw in some bamboo free hanging dragonflies to dangle on the bushes and trees. All this was just for a garden party she was preparing.

Faby is an extremely gifted artist, but never managed to break into the art scene in Barcelona. It’s a real shame as her scultpures are wonderfully feminine and speaks volumes of beauty and purity. I put it down to racism. But let’s not go down this avenue today.

The theme for her daughter’s (Fiore) birthday party was an Asiatic one. She was having difficulties finding Asiatic props in Venezuela, so she asked me to help. After googling countless sites, we came to the conclusion that she would buy online from US websites, have it shipped to her sister in Miami, who would subsequently bring the goods to Venezuela. Simple!
All that took a mere 30 minutes. After which she asked me about Chinese Astrology. Not only will the birthday party consist of Asian food, props, but she wanted every single guest to know which animal sign they were. This goes to show the extent to which Faby would invest in a fiesta. It’s admirable.

I directed Faby onto the Chinese Fortune Calendar site. We deduced that Fiore is a Brown (earth) Sheep, born in the year of the Green (wood) Chicken, her lucky element is water.
I stumbled on this frightfully flashy site some 4 years ago. At first glance, the site looks tacky, but as I began to read, I understood nothing! After countless hours re-reading most of the stuff, I realised that the site was written by Chinese person/people. The Chinese tend to speak in context; one simple sentence speaks volumes. One has to almost decipher the meaning. Four years on, I still have difficulties understanding the stems and branches.

After discovering that Faby’s daughter lucky element is water, the next click produced a list of things she could do to improve her luck:

When the Water is your lucky element

• Pig and Rat are your lucky animals.
• Years of Pig and Rat are your lucky years.
• Months of Pig and Rat are your lucky Months.
• Winter or cold season is your lucky season.
• 21:00 - 1:00 (9 P.M. to 1 A.M.) are your lucky hours.
• Northern direction is your lucky place.
• It will bring you luck to live a house that faces north.
• You should choose a bedroom on the north side of the house.
• When arranging the office desk, you should sit facing the north.
• A metal or water bed is good for you.
• Your lucky colour is black.
• You should wear black often.
• You should use a black system (dark colours) for decorating your house.
• Take care of your excretory system - also your Kidneys, Bones and Ears.
• Wearing jewellery will bring you luck

There are no explanations to the points; you simply had to follow without any questions. So came an avalanche of questions from Faby:

“Why is black good”?
“Because black is cold”

Why water?
“Because water is deep = cold”

Why north?
“Because North is cold”

“Why the excretory system”?
“Because without consuming sufficient water Fiore is prone to problems in the excretory system”

By this time, I had only managed to type in some 30 email addresses and should have cut the conversation there. But made the error saying:

“Did you know that foods are considered cold or hot, some are neutral?”

We spent the next 2 hours analysing Fiore’s life.

1. Faby: “Fiore is having problems sleeping”.
Me: “That’s because her room is probably in the wrong part of the house”. She should be in a room facing north. If it’s not possible to change her room, her head bed should be on the north side”.
Faby nearly died upon hearing this statement. Fiore is presently in a south facing room, with the head bed pointing south!

2. Faby: “She’s a fussy eater and often complains of stomach pains”
Me: “That’s because she eating too many hot foods. Don’t tell me, she doesn’t like meat, but likes fish. She likes vegetable but hates lettuce and cucumber” ( meat is hot, fish is cold, most vegetables are cold but lettuce and cucumber are hot)
Faby: "OMG, she loves vegetables but there is no way she would even pick up a piece of cucumber"

3. Faby: “what about pasta?”
Me: "Pasta is neutral, but Fiore probably doesn’t tolerate wheat. Try rice, it’s much cooler"
Faby: "OMG, she loves rice"

4. Faby: “what about eggs?”
Me: “The yolk is cold; the whites is hot leaning on neutral”
Faby: "OMG, Fiore only eats the yolk"

Finally:
Faby: “How do you know all this?”
Me: “I’ve absolutely no idea". I suppose the fact that my grandparents were Chinese herbal doctors meant that we grew up unwittingly absorbing the knowledge and developed a natural feel for it.

The final conclusion about Fiore was: change orientation of her bed, let her decide what she eats because her body knows best. Get rid of the pinks, reds, orange colours from her wardrobe. Bring in blues,greens and black.

I was glad that I was able to help Fiore, but the chat with Faby had pulled another cord within me. For some years now I’ve given sporadic thoughts about my career. I’ve always had a soft spot for abandoned or injured animals. During my younger years, I was forever bringing sick animals home and getting told off for it. My store in Barcelona became a free consulation room rather than a home deco shop. I’d been to many homes of clients to give my decorative opinions. More often than not, I advised them not to buy that particular table or chair they had in mind from my shop. Clients cried on me with their life’s stories on numerous occasions. The problem got so severe, that I was banned from being present on the shop floor.

Perhaps I ought to re-direct my career path! Perhaps I ought to do that art therapy course! However, however, perhaps, subliminally, I’m avoiding the forth coming trade fair in Paris. Though I love the fair and excel on the adrenalin rush it provides, I don’t enjoy the indirect aggression that is expected from me. My top client, Mr Ide from Japan will come and hassle me about improving production and quality. Franz from Austria will negiogate a cut throat distributorship deal (and obligate me to have dinner with him), Didier from Belgium will push me to finalise his mega project. I will talk Italian clients into tripling their orders and charm all buyers to my new collection. Petty small French clients will hover over me like flies with a retail buy (which I absolutely refuse). It’s a hard sell and I’m not sure that my heart wants to do it anymore. Anyhow, my once high level of testosterone is depleting. Now, I'd rather bake a cake than chase after that lucrative deal.

By the way, chocolate is deadly hot. So don’t eat too much of it! Personally I only consume dark chocolate for the high iron content after menstruation. There, that’s put you off!

Poll

New Guardian/ICM poll results published today shows the Tories gained 16 points against Larbour 25% drop. Though the poll was based on random sample of only 1004 adults between 21 and 23 August 2008….yes 2008!, it does reflect the enormous loss of faith in the present government. I dare not hasten to think what the results would be if a similar poll was conducted now.
Jeez, I left the UK when the New Labour came into power with a landslide victory in 1997. I return to the UK, undoubtly, to a Tory government. I feel cheated out of twelve years. For god sakes, someone, anyone, pull a miracle out of the hat…now!
My vote in the Tory strong hold of Richmond will be pointless….so I’ll be voting Green on 3 June 2010 ( if not before).

Compassion in Exchange for Fuel

Colonel Gaddafi looks more like a ruthless mafia boss than a world leader. I clearly remember him in the 80s and I must say he looks even dodgier now than ever. Why on earth would anyone engage in any play with him?

I fear that the recent furore of freeing Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s as a good will gesture to close trade tides between UK and Libya may mark the downfall of Gordon Brown and consequently the possibility of the Labour Party being ousted in the next general election. No doubt the hyena pack, lead by Cameron, will hasten calls for an election.

When news first broke out that David Milliband, foreign secretary, decision to release terminally ill Megrahi on compassionate grounds, the debate centred around whether the decision was right or wrong, whether compassion should be granted to a bomber who was responsible for the deaths of almost three hundred people. It is well know that world leaders by pass legal channels to expedite prisoners to secure trade. However no monetary links were made, not in the mass media at least. Only last week Mr Milliband ardently dismissed claims to any business relations.

The bomb dropped when Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, insisted that the decision to free Megrahi was tied to trade links between UK and Libya. Gaddafi himself went on Libyan television to praise "my friend" Brown and the British government for its part in securing Megrahi's freedom. Further speculation came with the disclosure that the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, met Saif earlier this month while holidaying on the Greek island of Corfu.

Libya is the tenth greatest oil supplier in the world. The Guardian reported:
Libya's greatest importance, however, lies in trade with the UK, which reached more than £1bn last year and could increase exponentially if Libya's estimated £43.7bn of oil reserves can be tapped. In 2007, oil giant BP signed a near £1bn deal to explore part of the Ghadames Basin, an area bordering Tunisia. Last week, just a day before Megrahi was returned, BP said it was seeking companies keen to win contracts to start drilling. British Gas and Royal Dutch Shell have also signed deals. Aerospace firm BAE Systems is eyeing the market closely, while retailers like Marks & Spencer and Next are opening stores in Libya's capital, Tripoli. In the first five months of 2009, UK exports to Libya rose 49%, to £166m

What strikes me is how flippant Gaddafi & Co. have been in publicly revealing the ‘deal’. It’s a no brainer what the repercussions for Brown will be. I cannot help but wonder perhaps there are ulterior motives on the Gaddafi camp. Poor Mr Brown, he has been out played and out witted, again!

We ought to cut Brown some slack. Britain, like many European countries, is suffering from a mayor energy crisis. Billions will be invested in wind energy within the next few years which will supply a meagre amount of energy required. Securing (questionable) supplies from Libya will satisfy some needs. Furthermore, Megrahi is terminally ill and has the right to die in his home land. Compassion in exchange for fuel. Unfortunately, many don’t see the arguments.

The British public are a compassionate bunch , but the Lockerbie bombing may still harbour raw nerves in our psyche. England wining the Ashes may divert attention for a day or two, but this scandal will not be easily forgotten or forgiven.

Singleton......again!

She:-
Today is a good day
the sun shines and awaits the moon
I pass a time, drink wine
And recline
on the slightly stilted chair
whose slow amble outward
makes me want to sing or samba,
move like a Jamaican mama.
The birds wheel and reel an steal tiny pieces of my sun
as the rampantly dance away.
Today is a good day.
Soon to be summer, soon to smell the hay
and Sunday mown grass.
How outrageously the trees flirt in the breeze, so tactile, so tempting
and never relenting
and dreams awake
of Blake
lotharios, signets and sirens,
winking and wanton, not weary of winter.
Ploughs and boughs, biscuits in tea
thinking of summer's the best place to be-
I should say.
Because today is a good day.

He:-
The bloodless sky which hails the warning year
The tearless eyes and green leaf burnt away
And sorrow which is heard in lonely crows refrain
Beneath the bright branch and earth of ice
The fruit of last years joy awaits rebirth
In timeless slumber sleeps those seeds
Which springs love only will mature
The measured time when bright day makes to arm
Against these baleful ides of snow
And silent sea with moon that sleeps below
And as from the darkening wood
loves season start anew.
                                               

Freedom of Thought

 Friday 14th August, blogger Leo Hickman wrote in the Ethical Living section for the Guardian, a blog entry titled Miley Cyprus the environmentalist? Don’t make me weep with despair. Hickman blasted Cyprus & co new single, a contribution to the Disney Project Green, saying that he failed to see what the message was. Readers responded to the blog with an accolade of whish-washed cynicisms, fuelling Hickman’s point.

My point is, not particularly about Hickman’s blog entry or the responses to the entry, but about how society believes that they exercise freedom of thoughts, when in fact they don’t. Vast majority of people believe everything they read, see or hear. Haste to assimilate opinions based only on the information and formulated opinions fed to them. They neither question the facts presented nor seek sufficient alternatives. Quite often following twats like Leo Hickman, who, himself lack sufficient background information to formulate rounded opinions.

Take, Saddam Hussein and the Kuwait & Iraq war. When the Kuwait war initially broke out in 1990, how many questioned on what basis did the US & UK claims of Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction? How many broadcasters explained to the general public the history of the Ottoman emperor then? And what were Hussein’s demands? Did anyone think or say: hang on, why are we fighting over a desert?
Almost twenty years on, how many people know the truths to these questions?

We simply follow the pack, whilst sitting on our over sized arses, gorging ourselves with mis-informed garbage, saying hear hear.

Caruso

It is said that music is the highest form of art. Music touches all souls, even the hardened spirits. Every one of all ages and has a defining song, which evokes emotions. In times of happiness, we rejoice with music. In times of sadness, we seek solace from music. Where would we be without music?
Differing taste in music is another interesting subject. Basically, it is very much okay to say; ‘I like the Bee Gees, George Michael or even Rick Ashley’. We may cringe upon discovering someone’s musical taste, but cringing is taken light heartedly. It is s hilarious to discover that your partner’s, all time favourite song is Waterloo by Abba! Personally, I loved the Bee Gees. Their songs always managed to uplift my spirit and make me want to boogey.

One of the first twenty first century icons has passed away. The world mourns. Michael Jackson touched everyone’s lives, from young children, grandparents, every day Joe Blogg, house wives, executives etc. You cannot spot a MJ fan in the street.
Most people have grown up with some sort of influence from Michael Jackson. Everyone has a defining MJ sound track which had marked a part of our life. I grew up in the 80s, arguably the best musical period in pop history. Thriller and Billy Jean marked my life. The Earth Song video made me cry and still brings me to tears every time I see it.
We had tickets for the ‘This is it’ tour. It was to be my daughter’s birthday present.
She will be only twelve years old but had grown to love MJ through dancing and had memorised some of his songs. We have watched all his videos and shared special moments singing and dancing along. We still can’t believe he is gone

Today, I played Caruso by Pavarotti & Dalla on You tube. I play this song in times of silence. This song (only this compilation by Pavarotti & Dalla) speaks to my silent soul, carrying me to a state of total serenity. It’s also ironic to say that I play this song in times of great achievement or event. There were days in my apartment in Barcelona when I would set this song in constant auto-replay. There were days when the song was played more than 20 times consecutively. My poor neighbours.
One does not have to understand Italian to appreciate the perfection of musical lyrics and instrumentals, though understanding the lyrics would add much depth. For years I had attempted to understand the lyrics. Plucking a few words here or there and had understood the song to be a history of departure from Italy to America during the mass migration during the 1890s. One premise was, a son saying goodbye to his mother. Obviously I mis-took mare for a deviation of mother! The actual translation is sea. Jeez, I had always managed to communicate in Italian with clients on the trade fair grounds with a concoction of Spanglishfied Italian, but got the lyrics of this song pretty wrong. Today, I googled for the Italian and English translation. I am not sure how accurate the translation is but reading in English dilutes the intensity and passion of the song somewhat. The story line is about going to America, but no mama in sight. The ending is so sad: he never made it to the land of promise. I will not even attempt to sing-a-long in Italian, as this would be an act of sacrilege.

http://www.oneloveandrina.com/journey2004/caruso.html

Match Making

We are in the first decade of the 21st century. Perhaps it was my mis-conception, but surely the new century, along with the fastly developed communications and technology, should be accompanied by a new era in liberalism, thinking and attitudes. This is not the case apparently. Attitudes and values are so deeply embedded in our psyche that it may take hundreds more years to change.

Marriage is a concept entrenched with this ancient value.
Life is simple: boy meets girl…..get married……and they live happily ever after!
Not so, as it would seem. What are the attributing factors that makes or break the bond? Difficulties to change are probably the main reason. We are so comfortable in believing we are right, in not seeing our selfishness. Our thinking is rigidly contained in our believes of rights and wrongs. List of other factors are endless, which will not be raised in this entry as it would take far too long.

What is apparent is that in today’s fast paced world, that the butterflies and the bees are finding it difficult to cross paths. Communal activities are limited, high tech gadgets mean we can exist without ever leaving home. Everything, including your sexual partner, is just a click away.

Recently I discovered that someone close to me has resorted to the traditional match making methods. Baffling concept as I thought the customs of match making had truly died, at least in the west. The reunion would be, for love, though conveniently contrived; the girl would be promised asylum and a comfortable life. The man would in turn have the perfect non-betraying wife, who, still retains the values one would expect from…..a wife! A curious premise, but everyone has the right to do as they wish.

The first meeting was with a girl 15 years his junior. What a disaster that proved to be. She was more interested in sending texts from her mobile phone than examining her potential mate.

The second girl was 8 years his junior. A more mature and weathered girl, who may have lived out her wild younger years and may be ready to settle down.
As I watch the behaviour of the couple in question, I actually began to see that this could work! My initial thoughts were that my pre-conceived views were quashed.
Why not? I said. We all accept that marriage implies compromises, this reunion only differ in that the compromises are clearly marked before any steps are taken. Everyone goes into the game with open hands.

However, as the day went by, I became sceptical. The couple could not communicate in their first language, surely this is the most fundamental fact for a happy reunion. This is not so as it may seem. Good verbal communications does not necessarily guarantee a long lasting relationship, at least for some people. One argument is that 70% of communications is done by body language, so perhaps verbal communications is not so important.

Another thought was how these two would conduct their daily lives. Well, on average couples spend 2-3 hours daily of quality time together, most of which is taken up by trivial chores and/or watching TV.

In olden days, an eligible man was more marriageable if he has a sizeable asset. Women are still seen as the weaker sex and for the older generations, or people who are stuck with this view, women will always be weaker. The idea that a man serves no more than to provide material wealth and do manly things around the house.
How can people still adhere to this idea? One could argue that if roles are clearly defined and the couple happily accept their role, then all would be well.

My scepticism is unfounded as I sit on my high pedestal voicing my disapproval.
I, myself have dabbled with online dating. Surely it’s the same. We sieve through potential candidates, subconsciously ticking or crossing points against certain fact. We spend time in seeking the truth about the other person, we spend months & years ‘getting to know’ the other person. And at the end of this time, can we really say that the fact are true or that we really know the other person? Why not get a match maker to do all the home work for you before the first meeting. Their emotional impartiality would result in a much more objective conclusion.

Food for thought!

Noticias de Mi

No tengo conexión a internet aun, entonces contestando los emails recibidos es difícil ahora. Por eso, he escrito la entrada en mi blog abajo para explicar todo. Pondré mis números de contacto en Facebook.

Llevo cuarto semanas en Inglaterra. Estoy súper bien. La casa ya esta casi preparada. Tenia que comprar muchas cosas nuevas: camas, muebles, plantas etc. Tenia luz, gas, agua desde el primer día, solamente me falta internet. Parece que todas las empresas de comunicación son iguales, sea el país.

Las niñas ya tienen plazas en las escuelas cercanas: Maxine estará en una primera pequeña, y su profesora se llama Ms Ahmed. Según otras madres, Ms Ahmed es una encantadora. La escuela lleva 104 anos aquí y me gusta su política. La escuela tiene una huerta pequena y un sitio con aqua con peces y ranas. Creo Maxine estará muy bien aquí.

Nuria entrara segundario en Setiembre. Su escuela es especialista en los artes, tienen de todo: teatro, escenario, sala de música, vestí bulario etc. Nuria flipara, como ella quiere ser famosa, esta escuela es perfecta para ella.

Estamos en suburbia. La calles largadas con casa en los dos lados. Cada casa tiene su propio jardín delante y detrás. El jardín detrás es de unos 80m2; hay 4 árboles de mañana, 3 de prunas, arbustos de frutas rojas, moras, rosas, gigantes y lo mejor de todo: hay césped! Nos visitan muchos animales: pájaros y gatos, otra día había un zorro!

Esta súper tranquilo. Nuestra calle es un cu-de-sac, casi no hay coches, y poquísima gente. Al principal, el silencio me molesto! Llevaba un fin de semana sola, escuchando al silencio. Llueve casi cada día, me encanta! A veces, me siento lado la ventana escudando la lluvia. Que diferencia a Barcelona. Domo con un ededron de plumas ligera, domo en paz como un bebe.

Tendremos nuestro primera BBQ el domingo que viene. Oh! Tengo una hamaca en el jardin.

Finalmente, el autobús numero 490 va directamente a Heathrow aeroporto! Por se caso queráis venir a visitarnos.
Besos a todos y nos vemos pronto