Friday 30 March 2012

to seize the day...

... is better than shoes!

The spring came and went... Here in the lower lands the changing of the seasons follows an entirely different pattern then anywhere else in the world... Last week's spring is followed today by autumn... Do I like it? No. Can I change it? Also no. What's left? Enjoying it while it lasts! And I did! To the full! So that I will remember the spring of 2012 as the time when I had my coffee after lunch out in the sun (twice), I was out for a beer, for dinner, spend a day in Amsterdam chatting in the good weather, walked 12Km on a Sunday morning and then walked even more during lunch break in a park.

Not bad for just a week, right? Oh, yeah, I forgot, not only the changing of the seasons here is odd but also their duration... springtime was just a week... but a good week it was! And that is exactly what made me think "carpe diem"... remember "Dead poets society"? I do and I did even more lately. Life is indeed too short, spring (sometimes...) is even shorter and what's important is not to count the size of things (which only matters in some cases...), what's important is to take advantage of the good, to enjoy even if it is just a moment! That's what counts!

Making nice memories is an art, I think. We can train our memory to store only the good and just delete the bad and we can create ourselves more good data to be stored. We can. We only have to do it. It is to a very large extent in our power to fill up those folders in our minds with pleasant files. And yes, if life throws us lemons, we can make lemonade and we can choose to remember the fresh, tasty lemonade and not the lemon that hit us in the head! I did deviate, didn't I?... Oh well, the point is, keep seizing the days, keep enjoying the good moments and stop worrying about them being just moments. After all, life is just a series of moments, no? ;)

Tuesday 20 March 2012

a bit of sun...

... and a good night's sleep is, really, better than shoes!

I woke up this morning with the sunlight sneaking in my room under the heavy dark grey curtain... no, nothing can keep it out if it's there and nothing can replace it when it's not! Second day in a row with sunlight! Priceless! And no, when I lived in Greece I would not even notice it, people never notice what they have in abundance... but here, oh here, I cannot but be counting the days (alas, the weeks sometimes...) before the sun shows his face on the blue sky and everything, no joke, everything looks better!

Add to that, that I actually slept well tonight and you have the perfect combination! I have been having trouble sleeping for some time, sleeping a lot but without getting real rest, like having the feeling that I am stressed all night and running lists in my mind of things I have to do... no good... But not tonight! Tonight I slept like a baby, comfy and cosy and snooze-y in the morning, nothing had bothered me, not the pillows or the duvet, nothing had spoilt my 8 hours of sleep! Now, who can actually say that this is not better than shoes, hum?!

So, two in one my bonuses for today, the benefits of those to be seen easily as I have been working happily and full of energy since I got to work! And I am in a good mood! And it is almost lunch time so I will have a break, get some food and continue! Good things happen all the time, remember, just need to see them! Today, I have already two of those going for me, and that is indeed worth mentioning and certainly appreciated!
Have a great day, people :)

Friday 16 March 2012

I went for a beer after work...

...and it was better than shoes!!

Ok, I will explain because so far it sounds very trivial even to me... So, to begin with, I had a lousy week... and it was not better than shoes, it was crap and it was the second one in a row and it really got to my nerves... But, it is Friday!!! And I woke up today determined to leave the bad behind and have a good last day of the working week, no matter what!

I put on my Martin Margiela boots with the concealed platform (comfort and style... I know... could not be better), my leather biker jacket and my good smile and arrived to work. Over breakfast my friends reminded me of the St. Patric's Day party at the bar. What a better way to finish work than with a party?! As the day progressed, I kept receiving compliments (best one from a lady friend who said "I want a belly like yours!"... man, Pilates pays off big time!!!) I felt better and better, my mood improved so much compared to two days ago I wouldn't believe it myself!

And after I finished some things which had been waiting for my attention these last few days, I went and joined the party. Had a cold Corona, laughed with some good friends, tried the Irish finger food (delicious meat pies, never had them before), chatted and a bit and then came home to my veggie burgers and "Law&Order" episode. No, did not need more, just that, just a beer, just a bit of socializing, just a couple of compliments and some people happy to see me, just the feeling that I did not do once again, and on a Friday, the same things I do every day... I am the kind of girl who does not need much to be content and this change away from the ordinary left me happy... and because of that it was better than shoes ;)

Tuesday 6 March 2012

an afternoon off...

...may be, believe you me, better than shoes!!

I have been working like crazy lately and apart from a short weekend to my beloved Lisbon, where indeed I had a "better than shoes" time, I haven't had a break since Christmas... I know, I know, this is the most difficult time of the year, the weather remains s*** and the spring has not even given us a sign it's close and all than has made it worse... But mostly it has been work that's been quite a heavy load these past couple of months... Well, those of you who read this blog regularly might have noticed the silence...

To top it up, I had to give a lecture to 25 students last week and I have also been a bit sick, nothing serious, just enough to put me through the adventure of trying to get a doctor on a Saturday... add to that chores like fixing the car window, cleaning my running shoes from an incredible amount of dirt, getting rid of the glass and paper for recycling and you got me without any energy left in my batteries... and none of all this would ever qualify to be in this blog if it wasn't to illustrate to you the value of today's afternoon off!!!

I never thought that snoozing on the sofa, warm under a soft blanket with a cuppa next to me and watching the home shopping channel would be such a bliss! But, bliss it was! I even almost bought the Ceramicore pans (nothing sticks to it and it is sooooooo easy to clean!)... well, almost... I stopped when I could not think of a place to store it... Nevertheless, that did not spoil my afternoon at all. Admittedly there is not a lot to tell you about it, however it is exactly this absence of action that made it the special, priceless, "better than shoes" experience worth sharing here with you ;)