gone for a walk

2 couples were walking their respective dogs yesterday, when the bigger one saw the water. its owner tried the best he could to prevent it from jumping in, but no amount of shouting did the trick. by the time i'd turned the corner (i'd only heard it all until then), the dog was lying in it, very happy with itself. it was so cute. it was also very muddy, so when it got out, you could see it was going to need to be hosed down before going back inside.

the new rule

a few months ago, a new sign came up in the showers at the swimming pool: no nudity. so basically, we can shower, but with our swimsuit on. which is useless. i finally got around to asking why we couldn't take showers naked. apparently, some parents had complained about it, because of the kids. i didn't know what to say: when i was a kid, at the very same pool, i'd been told off for trying to wash with my swimsuit on. and this is France! the country where women go to the beach topless. i don't get it. what's the fuss about girls seeing other girls naked? we all have the same bits...

more winter food - collagen nabe

nabe is a winter kind of hotpot in Japan. in a big saucepan, you boil up a broth, in which you then stick various types of meat and vegetables for cooking. this summer, my friends introduced me to collagen nabe. the broth had been 'shaped' into what you see in the picture, and was apparently full of collagen, and we had to wait till it had melted before we could eat. why collagen? because it make the skin glow. i'm not kidding. i didn't see any difference other than it tasted slightly weird. oh, that and it was the middle of summer!

manju

early winter suddenly has descended upon us: yesterday, temperatures plummeted and the wind blew strong. perfect weather for hot manju! these Chinese delicacies are filled with meat or other stuff and steamed up to a nice and filling impromptu meal (especially if you buy them in China Town in Yokohama, where they're just humongous!)

the 2nd date

i decided H. deserved a second chance. really, how much could i decide from 2 short meetings? also, i know it's sometimes taken me a while to find someone attractive, and as he seems quite motivated, i thought the least i could do was make an effort.

we met up last night and, after walking all the way through town, found a nice restaurant to eat. the conversation was very interesting (among other things, we discussed whether Obama deserved the Nobel Peace prize), and H. is very intelligent. he certainly managed to make me change my mind about a few things. he paid for the dinner, saying i could pay for the drinks we'd take next. we re-crossed all of town on foot and ended up in a little bar in Paquis. the good conversation continued, this time focused a little more on personal things, and then he said we should probably go. i looked at my watch and realised it was half past twelve! i hadn't noticed how late it'd become... which is good, cos it means i had fun (the reason he wanted to go was that he was actually still sick and basically needed more sleep). however, i'm still not attracted to him. as i said, he's not bad looking or anything. i just really didn't have the slightest urge to kiss him or anything.

so now i don't know what to do. on the one hand i have people saying that, if i don't want to kiss him, i should give up. on the other hand, the fact that he's mostly everything i like in a man (apart from the smoking) and that i had such a great time last night, well, that's positive. and if we add the fact that it sometimes takes me a while to get into someone, well, it could still work out. i think i'll wait for a 3rd date and if there still is no spark of any kind, then i can say i did my best and really tried. does that sound ok?

the workshop

i went to this workshop yesterday - dress for success in business, or something, it was called. i thought, what the hell, i've already been to a make-up class and bought more feminine-looking clothes this year, why not go all the way. this is the kind of thing that normally costs a fortune but would be accessible for just CHF 30. so i went.

it was interesting. it didn't bring me any earth-shattering news but i understood a few things better about what colours to wear or not to wear, how many colours to combine (or not) and what kind of clothes fit my body shape. so, a few good tips that i'll apply. ideally, of course, you get a private session with the woman, and there was a person there to show us the results, and i must say that although i have no idea what the girl looked like before, she looked damn good afterwards. but some serious money was also put into play, so that'll be for when i win the lottery!

roller blades

i finally managed to buy myself some roller blades. this is part of T.'s great plan to get me dates: all i have to do is show up along the lake and look as clueless as i am and wait until someone offers to help me. it's a good plan, and it apparently works, as N., who's really good at it, was accosted by a woman who wanted to give him some tips... we'll see. so far i've managed to roll from the bathroom to the balcony without too much difficulty. once i regain my confidence, i'm sure i'll be fine and in with a chance!

U

we have a U drive on our computer network at work. except that for some reason, i can't access it from my computer. it doesn't even show up. i'd thought it just wasn't available, when my colleague C. mentioned that she'd found something or other on the U drive. i was surprised and explained i couldn't access it. weird.

a little later, i went in to see my supervisor about something. he wanted to check it on his computer, so he moved the mouse to click on another drive, and that's when i saw he too had access to U. and this is what i said:

'you have u? everyone has u. i don't have u. i want to have u too!'

yep.

boy did i walk into that one...