Wednesday, 24 February 2010

growing old(er)...

I'm a huge fan of BBC programs! I'm crazy about cooking shows to the extent that I will hurry my work to finish on time to come home and watch "Ready Steady Cook" (and furious when the show is not on for a long time... like now... grrrr), I loooooove the show about people moving (escaping...) in a house in the country (though would never do it myself... go figure... guess it's because I really like architecture  and I'm interested in the different types of houses they show) and I'm fascinated by the antiques/auctions show... the one where people flog their attic findings and make lots of money of stuff that looks (usually) like crap to me!

So the other day I arrived home early (yes, have been working like mad in the afternoon to finish on time again... but it's so great to come home early, still with light outside, and enjoy this feeling that the one third of my life which is exclusively for me, my leisure time, is not an urban myth...) and turned the TV on to watch "Flog it". And there was this lovely couple, about eighty years of age, who said have been together for ever and they still have nicknames for each other!!! Obviously they were flogging something, don't even remember what is was, but that's not the point...

The point is that I started observing the old couple while they spoke... their long ears, the noses that appeared huge, the wrinkles (so many of them...),  the hatchbacks, the trembling hands... thinking about decay and deterioration of the body... And then it hit me... Boy, I wish I'm so lucky to reach their age!! Yes, I am aware that I will be looking like that, decayed and deteriorated and with huge ears but... who cares??!! I will still be enjoying life, I will still be laughing, I will still get angry and happy and sad and I will still feel love and joy and pain even... and if my brain works until then I will be able to acknowledge all this as a bonus!

A friend of mine once told me that "getting old is better than the alternative"... he is right! Surely being alive bits the hell out of being dead... partly because most of us have absolutely no idea how is it to be dead, so in the comparison, being dead looses as there is no info about it... But it's not just that... Getting old(er) is indeed better than shoes and it deserves being mentioned here. Not only because it comes with the extra bonus of experience and wisdom (which, let's face it, we might use or not...) but also because there can be happiness found in every day we live... and if we are lucky enough to get really old, that means having lived a lot of days and, thus,  a great lot of happy moments!!

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

and God created the perfect shoes...

 


Oh, wait, it was not God... It was the grand master Christian Louboutin! (there goes any little trace of faith still left in me...) And these are the Lady Claude 120 pumps...

This post is a tribute to all these things that are better than THESE shoes... And it's not me this time who is going to report them... It's all of you... 
So today's task (and no worries, I intend to return to my usual self and be the one responding to the challenge of finding the better-than-shoes elements of life and writing about them in the future) is to ty to think what is better then these beauties in your life and at least acknowledge them (comments/testimonies are of course welcome more then ever... hey, don't be selfish, share!)... If you want, go even a step further, if they can hear it, tell them!

We all have precious things, people, thoughts, hobbies, interests, pleasures in life... But what I have noticed is that in our everyday routine, we somehow miss them... we forget them... we do not appreciate them enough (or even at all, sometimes). So my attempt today is to trigger all of you to think for a moment of all those things, people, thoughts, hobbies, interests, pleasures... and then feel the joy their existence gives you, smile, share the realization with them if this is possible... 
Yes, if it is your children that for you are better then  the above featuring divine creations, tell them. If it your girlfriend, boyfriend, let them know... If it is you car or mighty powerful sound system or your brand you Mac computer or your garden or your dog or cat, just take a moment to appreciate them, to remember that indeed you have such things of sheer beauty in your life... so, in other words, just take a moment to find and acknowledge the beauty in your life... so often we forget to see it...

As for me, I will not be sharing what in my book is better then these shoes... too personal, too private, allow me to keep it for myself... And for those of you who believe that I will not be revealing it merely because it does not exist... well, you are wrong... it exists... even if it wins only by half a millimeter... ;)

Friday, 12 February 2010

Friends!!!

No, not the series... MY friends! My family of friends!

This post is dedicated to all of them... they know who they are... I won't name names... they are the intelligent, kind, carrying, understanding, fun to be with, bunch of people that I have the privilege of calling my friends! And they allow me to be their friend too... My chosen family... They should know that they ARE better than shoes but, just in case, here is a reminder!

So, here is to the ones who listen patiently to me even when I'm too confused to make sense of what I'm saying myself  and they actually manage to understand my blabbering... and explain to me what I was saying! Those who tell me the truth even when I do not want to hear it... especially when I don't want to hear it because I can be pretty intimidating in those moments and telling me the truth exactly then, takes a lot of guts! Those who love me unconditionally, no, not just "like" me, they actually love me and their love is so obvious by their actions that they don't ever need to say it... yet they do! Because they feel the need to!

The ones who say "count on me" and they mean it... and they do know how difficult it is for me to count on anyone, because, yes, I'm toooo independent and though I want to be always there for them, I do not want to ask anything from them... The ones who when they say "how are you?" they are actually interested in my answer... The ones who ask my opinion and advise and appreciate it though they might do the exact opposite... hey, it's their life after all, they wouldn't be my friends if they were incapable of taking their own decisions! The ones who worry, who care, who are there for me if I need to wake them up in the middle of the night because I need someone to talk to a bit... because I'm lonely... The ones who know me...

The ones who make me laugh, the ones who have made me cry, the ones who are close and the ones who are very far... The ones who don't pretend, the ones who don't lie, the ones who don't accuse and do not put themselves above all... The ones who don't judge, the ones who are not selfish... The ones who allow me to be part of their life... Here is to all of them, incredible people...

You are the best, you all are better the best shoe, better than a pair of all-time-classic Christian Louboutin black leather ballerinas! The super classy, super comfortable and super pretty! I love you all and I respect you and admire you and I miss you and I hope I'm a worthy friend for you!
And if/when I'm not, tell me! Pleeeeease!

The amazing world of movies!

I have been quiet for some time now... My last post was not as the usual ones of things that are, without a doubt, great (since they do win in the race against shoes...) Well, the thing is that I have not experienced any such good things lately... ooooor, so I thought!

As I was thinking my life these last few weeks, I reached the conclusion that not much has happened, no new experiences, no new spots in the city discovered, no new smells, tastes, views... basically what I have been doing in this cold (the worst ever in my entire life) winter is stay in and watch movies... And that's exactly when it hit me: That's it! Films ARE better than shoes!

Ok, to be exact, certainly not all films are better than shoes! In fact there are quite a large number of them that are horrible... and not just the horror ones! Everyone who had the extremely bad luck of ever watching "The limits of control" knows precisely what I mean! Boy, those were two hours of my life I will never get back!! (what?? wasn't two hours? less?? more?? an eternity perhaps??!!) My apologies to the creators, though they don't need it really, but it sure was not my cup of tea...

Those unfortunate ones aside, though, movies are better than shoes... or at least CAN be better than shoes! And these past few weeks I have seen some real gems! From the world of roller scatting/ fighting to the weird life of a veeeery frequent flyer, from the school of LA to the American South and football (not the one we have in Europe, THEIR football), from the (serious) war zones of the world to staring at goats and finally to the amazing world of fantasies that only Terry Gilliam knows how to create! And each and every one of them a true pleasure! Hours spent with smiles and tears and anger and joy, hours spent with emotions! And though I haven't been a great fan of those for years (emotions I mean) now I do know how to appreciate them!

So this is it for today! Movies! Choose them well, share them with loved ones so that you can comment about them afterwards, make sure you have some popcorn with if that tickles your fancy and enjoy them! I guarantee that the feeling can be better than those coveted beige patent leather Jimmy Choo pip-toes that you saw the other day ;)

PS. RIP Alexander McQueen... you will be missed...