Happy Birthday to me!!!!
Yep, today is my birthday! Twenty-six...
And so, to celebrate I am going to tell you all the "26 things" I am thankful for today (and in no particular order, people):
1. A wonderful, caring, and unique family
2. Having found the love of my life
3. All my Winnipeg girlies (you know who you are)
4. And of course, my 'Peg boyies too ;)(you should also know who u r)
5. My new circle of girlfriends in Amsterdam (you're great!)
6. Purple lilacs, gerber daisies, tulips
7. Flea markets (!!)
8. All things French (movies, food, fashion--to name a few)
9. Feeling the sun on your face (unfortunately a rarity these days)
10. Riding my bike to work every morning
11. Babies (I could eat them up!)
12. Swimming into a cold lake
13. Homemade soup and sandwiches, Sushi, Miso soup, Ethiopian food
14. Art galleries, bookstores, libraries, museums
15. Lazy Sundays
16a. Laughing 'til it hurts
16b. Uncontrollable giggles at inappropriate moments
17. Camping (the Canadian version)
18. Travelling, exploring new countries and cultures
19. "Will and Grace"
20. My "Will"
21. Good books that you can't put down
22. Summer evenings with friends on patios/terraces
23. People who can laugh at themselves
24. Silliness (in all forms)
25. Yoga, Pilates, Dancing!
26. LIFE!!!
Clothing (not quite) optional.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day (and Moe’s new job) we decided to indulge ourselves with an afternoon of massage and relaxation. Having heard enough buzz about the Dutch sauna experience, I decided it was time to check it out for myself. Going to the sauna is a very common past time in Holland. Whether as couples, friends, or colleagues--the Dutch are very comfortable with stripping down and sweating it out, together. Having spent more than a few months on the beaches of the south of France, the idea of some partial nudity didn’t seem like too big of a deal to me. (I will admit however, that the idea of complete nudity and public sitting surfaces still does not scream out “sanitary” to me).
And so, Moe and I cycled over to one of the reputable Saunas in Amsterdam last Saturday to give it a try. When we arrived at the Sauna we were immediately whisked away to our massages --one hour of absolute bliss was just what the doctor ordered. (Of course, my state of deep relaxation was occasionally interrupted by the sight of a nude elderly men splashing about in a small pool only a few feet away from my massage table).
After our massages we decided to check out the rest of the sauna. There was a large lobby filled with sauna-goers wrapped in towels reading magazines, sipping on fresh juices, and some dozing off in a corner. I decided I would take a shower and enter the main sauna area. I was just about to do so, when one of the staff marched up to me and loudly asked “Are you wearing bottoms?!” I hesitantly replied yes, not quite sure what the correct answer was, and she matter-of-factly replied “No bottoms allowed. So, please remove your bottoms if you would like to stay. Look around, everyone is naked here.” She left me, with others looking on, as I discreetly removed my bottoms and wrapped my towel a little tighter around me. I am willing to place money on the fact that I will never hear those words spoken again!
And so, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the various saunas and steam rooms. The whole experience was not nearly as shocking as I expected --perhaps I’ve been in Europe long enough to not blink an eye at a little nudity, or perhaps my state of intense relaxation simply blurred out all others around me. Regardless, it isn’t as though people are prancing about stark naked! As explained in the article The Dutch Sauna Experience, “although people are open with their nakedness, normally sauna-goers do not hang out naked or exposed”. Most people are covered up with a towel or two, and trust me, after a few minutes of realizing no one is really that interested in you, it all feels very natural...and very relaxing. I’ll definitely be back, although I can assure you, you won’t see me socializing in the sauna anytime soon with my colleagues! I think I need to live in Holland a few more years, to wrap my head around that one.
Lie Hard --with a vengeance
I don’t want this to become a celebrity trashing blog (how cliché!), but I just can’t resist posting about this --“Bruce Willis has come to the aid of highly-criticized "A Million Little Pieces" author James Frey, blasting Oprah Winfrey for the tongue-lashing she gave the writer on her show.”
Oprah, Oprah, Oprah...I used to be a fan, I used to watch you daily, and I used to even defend you to my "Oprah-critical" friends. But now, now you have really gone and done it. When you called in to Larry King Live and supported James Frey and his book, I thought you had maybe redeemed yourself, but then...then you go and drag him on your show, just to humiliated him, rip him apart, and save your own butt. All because you couldn’t handle a little critism (you big baby, you).
I’ve been waiting for someone (in that bizarre celebrity world of yours) to speak up about this, and now Bruce Willis has come to the rescue. Go Bruce, Go!!
"Just because his publisher chose to say that these were memoirs, it took it out of being a work of fiction, a great work of fiction and well-written, to this guy having to go be sucker-punched on 'Oprah' by one of the most powerful women in television just to grind her own axe about it.Hey, Oprah, you had President Clinton on your show, and if this (bleep) didn't lie about a couple of things, I'm going to set myself on fire right now!" (Good ol'Bruce)
I’ll admit Bruce could have been a bit more eloquent with his words, but common people, he’s an actor, what can you expect? Let's see how Miss O. herself reacts to this bit of critism!
While we are on the topic of celebrity bashing blogs, check out this blog www.gofugyourself.com!
And for those of you who haven't follow the Oprah-James Frey-saga (like, where have you been!!) read all about it here and here. The whole thing has gone completely out of control, there is even a blog called "James Frey Owes me Money".
p.s Who else thinks its a sad world when these kinds of stories make the headline news?
Home, sick.
The last two days I have been in bed, sick. It’s just been me, my laptop, CNN, MTV and the occasional apperance from Oprah (who I have recently lost a lot of love for). Dutch TV definitely leaves something to be desired. I have discovered that there actually is a limit to the number of crappy MTV reality shows you can watch before your brain goes completely numb and you lose track of time and space.
It’s actually been a bit of a relief. Apart from my raging head cold, I feel like my mind also needed a "time out", a couple of days to just chill out and relax. A "mental health day" of sorts, as my junior high school friend Emma used to call them. I was shocked the first time that Emma didn’t show up to school and proudly proclaimed that she just needed a "mental health day". She told she had spent the day watching soaps, eating junk food, and baking cookies. Amazed, I asked her what she had told her parents, didn’t they know that she was faking it?? Wasn’t she in big trouble? She laughed in that "god-you-are-soooo-young" sort of way, and said "my Dad recommended it actually, he says everyone needs at least one mental health day a month to stay sane". I remember thinking, "wow, who was this Dad--who actually encouraged skipping school!"
After pondering the "mental health day" concept for a few weeks, I defiantly proclaimed one evening to my mom, "tomorrow I’m not going to school! I am taking a mental health day!" I stood by, excited, anticipating a battle of words to follow. My mom didn’t lift her gaze from the book she was reading and replied nonchalantly "Sure...if you want".
Of course the next day I dragged my butt to school. The prospect of staying home just didn’t seem that exciting anymore.
And tomorrow I will do the same. Adult responsibilities have kicked in. My inbox is pilling up with emails. And somehow, cold or no cold, the prospect of staying home for another day while work is pilling up, just doesn’t seem that exciting anymore.
Paris, my drug of choice
When everything seems a little too much, I can always count on Paris to cheer me up. I arrived here yesterday morning, and the sun was shinning, the birds were singing, and best of all, the sales season was still in full swing!
In amongst catching up on emails and a few meetings I was able to grab a bite at my favourite restaurant, CoJean, stop by my favourite designer discounter shop (only looked today!), and browse through the endless edible delights at Fauchon’s (a.k.a the millionaire’s supermarket).
I don’t know what it is about Paris that always puts me in an instantaneous good mood. It sends me on a high that spills over to my return in Amsterdam. I was complaining to M. about this trip “I don’t feeeel like travelling, or staying in a hotel again”. And he said, “C, you say that every time you go to Paris, and then you come home on a buzz, bouncing off the walls.”
Everytime I come here I am also overwhelmed by this incredible feeling of itchy feet. There are so many opportunties, so many career possibilities here, that its all very overwhelming and exciting at the same. I want to dive in, to have a piece of it all, and to get started already. The tough part would be transplanting my life back over here. Hmmm....that's a doozy....
Home Sweet Home
There are times when I’m driving in a buzzing down the autobahn, or on a stage singing Karaoke at an Irish Pub in Brussels (a horrible rendition of “Like a virgin” might I add), or at a lunch meeting overlooking the Eiffel tower, when everything stands still for a moment and I suddenly think “C, what the hell are you doing here?! How did you end up here? And most of all, how did this all become so normal to you?!”
I often giggle to myself at these times, and wish I could just press pause for a moment, take a good look around and suck in all in. How bizarre all of this would have sounded 5 years ago. If anything I am continually shocked by how normal this all seems, how quickly some place can feel like your home, and how easy it is to feel at home in so many places at once, all at the same time.
I remember the framed print that hung in our front veranda at 414 Rose**** that read “home is where the heart is”. If that’s the case, I should count myself lucky for having so many homes, as I’ve left a little bit of my heart scattered around the globe.
