Ok, maybe you are wondering when I find the time to write so many posts now and why, if I have so much time to write, why don't i do it more often. Well, it's Saturday and this is the third post I'm writing today. And I still have another one to do at least before I can relax a little. Jeeezzz, the life of a regular blogger is exhausting.
Anyway, my point, Postcards from Russia is here, fifth post dedicated to this country, and maybe not last, cause the week I spent there left me full of posting ideas.
Today I want to play a game with you all, the name game. Cyrillic is an alphabet very similar to greek, and once you've seen it for a couple of days you can actually read it with some ease.
Once you know what a PECTOPAH is, the rest is easy. It's actually funny to walk about the streets of Moscow articulating letters as you read them. Russians may think we tourists are idiots, but we tourists feel very intelligent when words start comming out our mouths and make sense. Cause Russian has many words that sound like a mix of Greek and latin, and I don't know what else
I made a selection of the best known brands worldwide and offer you to play the name game. Can you guess them all?
Most of them are easy, with the giant M and the little syren, the last two are a bit more difficult, but I am sure that at least my friend Agnes will know. I would be very dissapointed if she doesn't.
I am officially exhausted. An this post only ensures I have posts till Tuesday... This is going to be hard... Why do I put myself through this?
I promised yesterday to post this and here it goes. My Top 10 TV shows of all time, well, maybe not, maybe I should say My top 10 TV shows of all time from an adult perspective, cause if you had asked me let's say 22 years ago I may have included Falcon Crest in the list below together with Saint Seiya (better know as Caballeros del Zodiaco here at home).
So be thankful I grew up and that my mom never let me watch more that the opening credits of that show cause this could have been a very... interesting list actually. I've decided to split this post in two parts, so today numbers 10 to 6, and next week the top 5. You are, as always, most encouraged to comment on my choice and suggest some changes, I am always eager to discover new TV shows, so drop by and leave a word.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you, the LIST:
10.- I admit I would put this TV show in number 5 or 4 if my common sense didn't tell me that many will disagree and think me a little shallow. I may only need to say three words for some to guess which show it is: Make it work.
9.- I started watching this show when its last season was about to start and it was such a great discovery that I watched all the seasons, episode after episode some time in the autumn of 2008, frack, it took me days to do that. Awesome show. Can't say the same about the prequel. Please cheers to Battlestar Galactica.
8.- Number eight goes to a show I watch intermitently, a show that I don't watch while it is ongoing but wait for the season to be over and watch episode after episode in a Show-athon (anything can be athoned this days!). She is bad, she is twisted and she is brilliant, that why everyone loves Patty, cause when she is through with you, there won't be anything left.
7.- Seven goes not to one show, but to a genre, those cute TV shows that make you like them just because they are cute, characters are cute, the town is cute, the story is cute... I think you get it. It's a pity general audience doesn't seem to like them as much as I do. Clear examples are Men in Trees and ongoing and recently premiered, Hart of Dixie.
6.- Weird, inexplicable and odd. Fringe is justthat. Walter Bishop is one of those characters you can't help but love. Peter is awesome, Olivia may or may not irritate you, in my case she does, but the show is great. And this way I cover not only Fringe, but also other J.J. Abrams shows, looking all modern, ha.
Curious to know which shows made it to the top 5?
In other circumstances you would have had to wait months, but that is the good thing about the Post-athon! You'll have your top 5 in a few days. Come on, leave me some comments.
Someone should have told me the minute you start thinking about buying a house something twitches in your brain and all becomes a matter of saving.
I am so not ready to save! I would have to quit on stuff like taking taxis to go everywhere, and not buying everything I like. That sucks. Even I feel guilty about the last pair of shoes I bought, and that is just cause I bought them right before seeing the apartment I WANT (and need to have, it's a pity it is so damn expensive). I seriously thought about turning them back, but they are so lovely, and duck blue!
But I've started adapting my ways to this new idea of saving, for instance, last night, instead of taking a taxi, or two, I took my mom's car, and not only did I save around 30€ in taxis, but gas is free, since mom pays for it.
Or Thursday, thursday I spent zero € overall! I got lifts to and from work and I got invited to lunch... Maybe this saving thing is not that difficult, all you have to do is make someone else spend the money for you right?
I felt so good about doing such a great job saving that I spent 70€ shopping on amazon. That is the spirit.
I feel so Rachel Green right now.
and this also helps as introduction for Monday's post in Such is Life 2011 Post-athon, "My top 10 TV shows of all time".
(WARNING: This is one of those angry posts only very few will understand. If you wonder, yes, it is totally ironic)
Dear France,
Oh, how I appreciate that you treat us so fairly.
It is admirable how you respect our public holidays and keep us away from our laptops, emails, blackberries and offices, and allow us time to relax and forget the trials of our proffesional lives. We are so thankful that you kept us from a boring and tedious Wednesday with our insupportable friends and families. We know you do it in our best interest. In this economy, we need to be more productive, and if you don't make us lazy Spanish work in our public holidays, trust me, we are not going to do it.
How cheerfully you informed us that Friday is a public holiday in France, and that none of you would be working. How admirably you encourage us all to work non-stop from Monday to Thursday so that you can get your well deserved rest.How complete a person feels when your job is well done.
How awesome to have produced more than one hundred emails in a day making us feel needed and appreciated, and our work and time so incredibly valued.
I was moved by your capacity to keep calm and try not to panic with the smallest downturns. We Spanish should learn from your organised and efficient working methods.
Damn me and my need to report any little thing that ever happens to me on Facebook.
I fell (not for the first time though) in the Social Network Trap.
The Social Network Tarp is the mix of: (a) the pathological need to tell the world any and everything you do real time (i.e. "I am eating an ice cream cone, awesome") and (b) the realization that you may have made a mistake in reporting what really happened to you, which always leads to (c) your friends realising you are somewhat ridiculous.
Of course, as always, based in a true story:
As usual, this is what happened to me one sad wednesday afternoon.
A few weeks ago I decided to start going to the gym with a friend. The idea of exercising regularly is still alien to my convictions, but week after week, we kept going to that horrible little hole full of muscles and sweat.
That wednesday, as I got ready to exercise, with very little will to actually exercise, I realised I could not find my runners. Old plain runners. I desperately seek them in the changing room, and frantically type this on my FB status: "someone stole my runners at the gym". Immediate reply, my sister laughs at me and I keep frantically looking for the runners.
I go to the reception desk asking for a pair of old Adidas but no one has seen an old pair of Adidas. Thieves! Filthy little thieves! I keep looking and looking, and when I have surrendered to the idea that, I am not going to exercise that day (that was painful, yeah (ha)) and I would have to buy a new pair of runner (that was painful indeed), I realise that I have not had a pair of Adidas since 2003.
"Excuse me Miss, you may not have found a pair of Nike runners by any chance?"
"You said Adidas before"
"I know, I am that stupid and cannot tell the difference between three stripes and a swoosh"
"We do have an old pair of plain Nikes"
"Those will be mine, thank you".
My next FB status: "is a clear example why you should not publish anything and everything that happens to you on FB in real time".
My theft status generated 18 comments, none of them praised my descretion, trust me. I even felt bad and had to publicly apoligise to the people at the gym (again by publishing it on my FB :P).
Lesson learned, after that I have only updated my status twice. One referred to my late raccooning, which I may explain, or may not, depending on how fast I run out of stories for my Post-athon, and the second to send RIM to hell for the revival of the general server faillure which took place yesterday for a short while.
Oh well, I made it!
Such is Life post-athon day 2 and another post successfully published!
Summer is now very far away, and I am not very good at remembering details, so I'll be quick.
Russia 1917, the last members of the imperial family are driven away from Saint Petersburg and gave rise to one of the most popular 20th century legends, Anastasia (I may have watched the 20th Century Fox movie at least a million times).
But I digress. The purpose of this post is to show, that sometimes you can, or at least, you have to see certain things coming (like a mass of raging proletarias who want to send to to hell).
Here's a story:
Tzar: "My dear daughter, here's a palace in the center of Saint Petersburg as a wedding gift"
Princess: "Thanks Daddy, but I don't like it".
Tzar: "Why darling?".
Princess: "I hate the view!"
Tzar: "But why? It is a lovely view of the square, and the church on the other side is magnificent".
Princess: "Oh, but there is that statue of you in a horse in the center of the square".
Tzar: "sure, and?"
Princess: "The horse's backside is the first thing you see when you look out the window".
And that is the story of how one of the hundreds of palaces in Saint Petersburg has always been empty.
And here's another story:
Summer, Saint Petersburg, some time in the XIXth century (yes I am that accurate with historical facts). The tzar and his family relocate to their summer palace 29 km away from their hundreds of palaces of Saint Petersburg. Golden fountains that flow with the sound of music (even one dedicated to the tzar's favourite dog), a channel from the main fountain to the sea, a yet smaller palace for those times were 40 rooms are not enough to get away from your family... and your subjects Mr. Tzar?
"Oh, they may be starving, but I am sure they will not be a problem".
Ok, I may have been suffering writer's block or actually just being lazy, I know I owe you some more postcards from Russia, and I know I have not posted anything half funny in the last few months, but do not suffer! I have many many ideas in mind now, and I intend to put them into practice.
I am therefore proud to announce, the "1st Such is Life Post-athon" (*please cheer*)!
Now you may wonder:
a) What on Earth is a Post-athon? and
b) Why is she announcing stuff she is not going to do?
Well, please find your answers below:
a) A Post-athon is a blogging marathon. From now till December 1st I intend to post something every single day, yeah, I have gone suicidal. One post per day for the next... 1, 2, 3, ...21 days!
b) I am very stubborn (clear examples of this are: The hula hoop and the diving paradoxes, soon to be published in the Post-athon.
Yeap, more Such is Life coming in... TOMORROW.
But before I can go all crazy with the new draft posts, I have some draft minutes to prepare. I hate working on bank holidays (you here me people at W&C? hate working on bank holidays, a little thank you would be much appreciated).
Today I want to play a game with you all, the name game. Cyrillic is an alphabet very similar to greek, and once you've seen it for a couple of days you can actually read it with some ease.
Once you know what a PECTOPAH is, the rest is easy. It's actually funny to walk about the streets of Moscow articulating letters as you read them. Russians may think we tourists are idiots, but we tourists feel very intelligent when words start comming out our mouths and make sense. Cause Russian has many words that sound like a mix of Greek and latin, and I don't know what else
I made a selection of the best known brands worldwide and offer you to play the name game. Can you guess them all?
