Thankful Thursday # 6

Hello boys and girls. Did you miss Thankful Thursday last week? I really didn't feel like doing it not because I didn't have things to be thankful for, but rather because I just couldn't be bothered. I mean, this is something I do because I like, because it makes me feel better about my life. It shouldn't feel like a chore. So I skipped a week. Ready for this week's batch?

1. Time flying fast. It was only at 5pm today that I realized this was a thursday. Thrusday!! I've been so busy and so concentrated on the things I have going on in my life right now that I can't believe tomorrow isn't just tuesday. Weeks simply have been flying by. And it's great when days don't drag, don't you think.
2. As a result of time flying by, tomorrow's a friday! Weekend ahead! Woop woop!
3. Celebrating my birthday. Not because of the presents, but rather because I love being showered will all the attention, all the phone calls and facebook updates and hearing from people I don't get much of a change to speak to most of the year except on special occasions. And cake! All hail cake!
4. Lack of traffic on half term weeks. Usually it takes me forty five minutes to get to work. This week - all week - I drove happily to my destination in less than twenty.
5. Treating myself to a day trip to London, one of the three cities that hold the key to my heart. I even like the train trip, just perfect for a bit of extra and much craved for reading.
6. Having fun at the workplace. Which I do, every single day! Tomorrow I'm banned from the office until it's actually my time to start working... I suspect there may be birthday cake involved in all this plotting...

Nothing but the rain

It's been raining a lot lately. And by raining I mean we should have started building an ark ages ago because at this rate we will soon all be underwater. A few days ago on one of my walks around town with my flimsy little umbrella I thought of something that hasn't crossed my mind in years. My grandmother had an umbrella, a small but proper one. For years and years it was always the same olive greenish thing of sturdy built that never once got turned over. And I wonder what happened to it, who did I gave it to and why the hell didn't I keep it. At the time of her death I had a lot on my mind to worry about a silly umbrella. But looking back I wish I had. Because I chose to live in a very (very!) wet country and having a constant reminder of her would've been nice.

You see, my grandmother passed away in 2010. One day she was fine and two days later she simply wasn't here anymore. We were never close, not as much as she wished and as much as I needed, and yet that was the status quo. Mine is a complicated family history. Suffice it to say the word "feud" is a poor description. And so it was easier to not get involved. To keep people away.

And now all I have is the regret of all that was left unsaid and undone. Now there is only one living being with whom share the same genetic heritage from that side of my family, and all the stories and recipes and mementos are lost forever. When my maternal uncle died I had two weeks to empty the house they lived in for over fifty years. And I had only my own bedroom to store whatever I chose to keep, so I kept very little. The tea set, a few pictures of people I could identify as family members, one of her scarves and little else. And now I wish I had kept the umbrella. I sure could use it now. The umbrella and a bit of family love. The one we never actually expressed openly.

The celebration train

When you move to a foreign country the first thing you're bound to feel is isolation. You left your country, your home, your family and friends behind. Ahead is a seemingly endless sea of days without any of it. And no matter how promising your new life is, the emptiness caused by all the things that have ceased to be part of your life aches. A lot. And the day when you travel back for no matter how long always feels a million light years away. So what do you do? How do you cope?

Personally I focused on smaller milestones. On holidays and any reason to celebrate. My first week living abroad. Then the first month. Then my boyfriend's birthday. Then Hallowe'en. Bonfire Night. Our anniversary. Christmas. New Years. Valentines. Pancake Day. My Birthday. And soon enough I was celebrating my first year abroad.

Very much like a train that stops in every little village until it reaches the big city, I was always concentrating on the next item on the celebratory list. I avoided thinking "there's still seven months until I see my family again". Instead I looked forward to the next holiday. Just two weeks to go. And then only a month until it's time to celebrate something else again. I was denial when it came to looking at the bigger picture. And it worked.

I know it might sound childish and stupid, but there's no arguing over the results. Living abroad is tough and not for the faint of mind/heart. You're entitled to a few coping mechanisms. Besides, this type of thinking will help you blend in so much faster. And by blend in I mean learn the way of the land and learn to enjoy it just like the natives do. Think about it - what's not to love about a day dedicated to eating pancakes? Or having an extra day after Christmas to just chill out? And you can still celebrate your old holidays, even it is on a smaller scale.

Ponder on this - you're not really trading your native train for a new one, you're just adding more stops along the way! And that's progress!

Thankful Thursday # 5

Wow is it that time of the week already? How time flies when you're busy having fun! Well, here we go then!

1. Pink sunrises. It's like the promise of a sunny day, albeit not always a true one. Still, it's pretty and I like to believe the sun will shine bright every time I see one.
2. My boyfriend's cooking classes. The leftovers I take the next day are always the envy of the office. And so tasty I have to ration it before tasting otherwise I'd eat a double serving of what I should. Yum!
3. Valentines. I know it's still a week away, and you can always argue it's just another concoction society came up with to make us spend money for no good reason. I say any reason to party and celebrate and shower a loved one with gifts are welcomed.
4. Working next to a window. When given the chance to choose I desk I chose one where I could see a bit of sky. I'm Portuguese, I seriously need the light. And it makes all the difference!
5. My new boots. One of the first (and very few) things I splurged my first wages on and so so worth it. And I don't say this lightly, I'm a sissy when it comes to footwear, especially if there are heels involved. So yeah, really good purchase.
6. Being a foreigner. It basically gives you an unlimited supply of small talk. And it gives you loads of funny stories for parties or when there's a dull moment in the office (which I've never experienced yet)
7. Driving in the UK with the same cds I had in my Portuguese car. I'm listening to the Beatles and suddenly the M6 could easily be just another stretch of the A5. Weird how that works, right?

January in review

I can't believe January is a thing of the past. That's 1/12 of the year gone. Puff! Like smoke. In the night so as to disappear undetected and in a shady manner. And I must admit I'm not quite ready for February yet. Are you? Are you keeping to your resolutions for 2014? Because I haven't even quite started most of them! Oh well, so what exactly was January up to?

The big item this year is the new job. So it was that as January was still in its infancy I started a new career that was quick to catch my heart. I've said it on a few occasion and I'll repeat it again - I love my job. And I love everything that comes with it. I love my work, I love my colleages, I love my days, my new routines, my tupperware lunches with leftovers, even my commute is pleasant.

So January was all about the job. And what wasn't about the job was about running the rest of my life whilst having a job. Housework and all that. And to be quite honest I think I did I good job. The job went great, the house was fine, all meals were planned in advance, all ironing done before a new week started, there was never anything to be done last minute. We even had a bit of a weekend away in Oxford with friends and yummy cocktails.

But I expect more of February. It's time to step things up a bit more. It's time to get cracking with my diet and get my sorry behind to the gym on a regular basis. It's time to live a bit more. To do more with my time. And it's high time I get on with it!