Narnia

...and so after months of waiting for it, Narnia came to tbe big screen. no, i've never actually read the series. yes, i actually meant to do so before the movie came out. but i can't do everything.

anyway, the movie was great. it was a good alternative to the Harry Potter movies, which aren't as great as the books. having not read Narnia, i discovered a great story (that i still plan on reading). i loved the girl who played Lucy, the youngest child. she definitely has an aura about her. and although Peter overdid the beginning of the battle scene (but then, what 16-year-old would ever look natural commanding an army of thousands?), i thought he did pretty well all round. LOVED the faun.

i recommend it.

dog scare

my dog's been having trouble getting up the stairs for a while, and getting up from a lying position, and generally keeping it together on stone floors lately, but it was still a shock when his back legs went all weird last night and he could barely move around. although it didn't seem to bother him too much. so we were all really worried and decided to take him to the vet today. but then, when he woke up, he seemed fine, so we decided not to go after all. so that later, when he was again having trouble, albeit a lot less than last night, we changed our minds again and off to the vet he went. turns out his arthritis is really bad, but he's now been given meds, so he should at least not feel pain and walk around normally. that's all we hope.

early christmas

Thursday was going to be hellish, workwise. we'd had the work do the previous evening, which went really well and i really enjoyed, but it was after 3 hrs of painting the last room in the flat (which unfortunately needs another coat!) so i was knackered, and despite leaving the do early, waking up was hard. and the thing about Thursday was that i was going to have 3 hrs of lessons, then 50 mns to get halfway across town to my second lesson, after which i'd have 45 mns to get back to the school for my 2h15mn private lesson. just the thought was tiring.

i hurried back to the school, trying to take in the bus problems (no juice - electric bus), i managed to get there on time to be told my student would be 45 mns late. that was kind of nice. ten mns later, he called back to cancel. even better. got paid for doing nothing, and could leave to finish Xmas shopping. so off i went to the airport, where i wanted to get the last present, and it so happened that my sister was supposed to land at about that time (i didn't know exactly when, seen as i was supposed to be teaching), so i decided to try and see if any flight from London should be arriving around then. there were 3, so i chanced a look. and who should i meet but my dad, his girlfriend, her daughter and her boyfriend, all waiting for my sister to arrive! i was bang on time. it was perfect. totally unplanned and great. i was really happy i'd checked before bussing it back...

now i'm on holiday (first in a long, long time, if you don't count 2 days off as a holiday), wrapped up all my presents, everything is ready for 'little Christmas eve', a typical Danish tradition that i've waited for all month.

so i wish you all a very merry Christmas. have a wonderful time, wherever you may be. and if you are, like many of my friends, in some war-torn country, i hope you'll be able to make the most of it.

an unexpected meeting

i was at a friend's place, the other night, when i met this woman. we starting chatting and discovered we both lived in the same village. i started describing where i lived by saying it was at the intersection of 'known street' and 'known street'. she didn't know the street names. so i gave her detailed directions from her place to mine. she looked confused and said i'd lost her somewhere. so i told her again, ending by telling her it was a big house on the corner, with a field for a garden and a big swimming pool. more confused look. she could only think of the big Provencal-style house. that was it, i said. it couldn't be true, she said. she then added she used to live there. no way, said i. after all, we'd bought the house from the previous owners, and i knew them to live in the States. but as it turned out, her family had rented the house for 4 years before the owners had decided to sell it. so it was true. we'd lived in the same house. even weirder was the fact that her room had been what's now mine. it was really strange. we talked for an hour about the house, living there, the garden... it was like meeting a long-lost parent or something.

end of series

my mom used to watch this series on tv that she loved. the perfect mix for her of uniform (the marines), law and romance. anyway, the very last episode was shown the other day. it was really good. she would have loved it. i wish she'd seen it.

more sad news

and so last night i got home to find an email from my best friend S. telling me her father had just died. somehow, i'm starting to view this month as not a good one, considering it's also the very last Xmas i get to spend at home. i hope there won't be any more bad news...

sad news

i just got an email from my date (the one from last week) and he's just told me that his father's just been diagnosed with cancer. it's so sad. like my students this morning, i wish illness wasn't part of this world. i wish we could take it all away. that people didn't have to die from that.

the kitchen

waahhh.... the kitchen is finally up!

after all this waiting around for a guy to come and do it, then having to negotiate a price (which is fine when it's not really important, like clothes or something, not when it's your kitchen), then wait to see how well they'd do it... and finally, it's all there. just as i'd pictured it. now all i need is a few accessories, a couple of plants on the counter, curtains for the window and a large mirror to make the tiny room look bigger, and i'll be all set to go!

i'll post pictures the minute i have some :)

what a day!

it started well, although with lots of apprehension. many things were due to happen, all of which either made me sad, anxious, or kind of excited. conflicting emotions trying to take over... imagine the disaster.

somehow i got into work ok, taught one of my favourite students one last time, and was treated to a farewell present consisting of a cactus (b/c i was too strict), and some Japanese matcha (to take the rough with the smooth). adorable.

at home, there was a msg from the kitchen guy. he would under no circumstance go under the 'new' price of 1150 euros, 150 less than saturday. still a lot. had 2 hrs to make up my mind as i had to rush back into town. stressed like mad about whether i really had enough money in my budget or whether to do it alone. but i want to move in, really, and it would take me another month for me to put it up, and i don't want to wait anymore. so we finally agreed on 1100 euros, and he'll start tomorrow. should be done saturday noon. ...

rushed back into town for my first blind date ever. then again, it wasn't really blind, as we'd been chatting on the net for a week and we'd exchanged pics and all. it was nice to meet someone new, although i don't think anything romantic will evolve from this. still, he was nice and we had a great time talking about Japan (which he loves too). i got to explain a few Japanese expressions to him. it was really nice being able to say 'gomene' or 'kawaii' or 'sugoi' and know the other person understood.

after a final lesson, got home at quarter to ten, and was pleasantly surprised by an email from aforementioned student, who wanted to know when we should have our badminton game. i really want to keep in touch with the people from this group i have right now (it's already really sad having lost another student on friday, student with whom i used to take the bus twice a week and have long conversations with), so i'm really glad he emailed.

i'm exhausted now. too many emotions. not enough time. need sleep.

A Special Approach

one of my students produced this work, over the weekend, based on a conversation we had about how i always walk into things that never move, but somehow manage to avoid things (or people) that do...

"Men have always developped some strategies or means to meet someone else or to enter relationships. Among all of these, there are a lot of modern possibilities. For example, today, we use chat and email on the web, SMS or MMS with cellular phones.
Nevertheless, a long time ago, people didn't use those means of communication. So, how did they do? They met in bars, pubs, restaurants or at some concert. Today, it's still possible and done.
But I'm lucky. I have the happiness and the privilege of knowing someone who has developped a unique technique to enter relationships: the static position.
What is that and how can you use it? The static position is an art which is, or could be brutal and curious for uninitiated people. Why? Because to practise it, you have to stop in the middle of the street until someone you have specially selected (for some pleasant characteristics) and who is not attentive to you, runs into you!
What are the consequences? Excuses, embarrassed smiles will follow. It's the best and easiest way to make first contact (physically and orally). Then, of course, restaurant invitations and flower bouquets could follow...
The only problem is that if everybody practises the static position, nobody will crash into another person. The world will be unable to move. So, use the technique but never misuse it! Don't forget that there is a patent. You should pay $1 (to an association which helps children) each time you use it."

The Goblet of Fire

sacrified some lesson prep time to go watch the latest Harry Potter. although i'd read the reviews, which all said it was really dark and not for children (yes, anyone who's read the book would know that already), i was surprised to see how dark it was. but it was really good. although the very end (the last 2 mns) seemed a little too cheerful, considering Voldermort's back and Cedric's died. still. infinitely better than instalments 1 and 2...

social life

so, after weeks of living like a hermit, due to work and appartment decoration, only managing to see the odd movie here and there to 'do something' and get out of the house, i finally went out again last night. it was really great. my students had suggested we have dinner instead of going for a coffee, so we had fondue, after which we went to a nice little coffee shop where we stayed for hours. it was 1.30 when i got home, which, when you've been living around getting to bed at 10.30pm, is quite late. it was really hard to stay awake, but we had so much fun! we were in fits of laughter for most of the evening...