Bye Bye Wales

Goodbye Wales!! I'm back to Malta, unfortunately. The holiday in Wales was superb. Picturesque scenery, friendly locals, good company...can I ask for more? Not really! The only accident to momentarily marr this beautiful experience was when at arriving at the doorstep of the farm I had booked days before, the owner told me she couldn't make it. I really got angry and fought (verbally of course) with this hell of a woman like I was fighting for my life. So much so, that my friends kept pulling my legs about the situation for hours. To cut a long story short, we managed to find a much nicer accommodation at a more reasonable price....everything happens for a reason they say.

There were also moments of great tension at times, result of being a large group. Some prefer this over that and so on, and sometimes these preferences tend to clash. All in all, I declare each penny spent for this holiday as totally worth it. A detailed program of the holiday together with some pictures will be posted later.

When today is not your day

Saturday

13.00pm: PC cannot be switched on. Windows failure or something. Have to buy either a new RAM or a motherboard :-s

15.00pm: cannot watch TV because it seems that satellite codes are being changed every split of a second

21.00pm: the so-longed-for Mongolian meal cannot take place because restaurant is fully booked

21.45pm: at the D'Amici Restaurant. I ordered veal in honey & mustard sauce. Fine, the menu looked good. Food is ready. First bite...the mustard sauce must have gotten lost at some point on the way because there was not the least hint of it on my plate. Cost: LM 5.25. Content: 2 pieces of veal the size of a chickpea, with no vegetables or potatoes. Ideal for: a 3 year old.

A side note on this restaurant: later we got to know that it specializes in Russian cuisine. Now, do you call a restaurant which has a pasta-pizza-grill menu & where you are greeted in French, Russian? Oh god, I think this sense of universalism & global - village thingy is becoming too much powerful, don't you think?

Tear - washed face

I love them. They love me. They are my parents. However, this love is strange. It clashes over and over again. It seems as if it is incompatible. These are the people who gave you life, who help you grow...the first people you get to know in this shit-loaded life...how can it be that such a strong wall of separation grows between "you" and "them" ?

I admit that sometimes it is all my fault. I give them trouble, even to the extent that they end up arguing between them. I'm not perfect and I know it. But who is? I do not excuse myself though, I feel hatred for myself when I realize I had hurt them. After the death of my sis, they focused all their attention on their only other child...me, and I don't blame them. It is for this reason that in such instances I try to do my best to alter this sad situation.

But it is after this attempt fails that I feel the most depressed. It is when I know I did nothing wrong and they turn against me nonetheless that I wish the earth to jerk apart and that I get buried somewhere deep down, so deep that I can never see the surface again. When things happen from a force outside of you there is nothing you can really do about it, and that is even more killing.

My roots are broken and I'm lost....and sad

Babysitting!

For those with small kids or else for others who, like me, are ending up as babysitters:
here are some links to websites that I find useful to keep the brats busy.

1. http://www.go-red.co.uk/game/red-driving-game.htm
2. www.bigcomfycouch.us/
3. pbskids.org/teletubbies/
4. www.postmanpat.com/
5. http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/
6. http://www.thekidzpage.com/

Good Luck!!

Resurrection

This is the state of one who has returned to life and I'm happy to announce that that's how I feel. Exams are finally over and I'm free from studying, at least, till July. As planned, last weekend was fabulous . Eating by the sea at sunset on Friday, a night at the farmhouse on Saturday and a day swimming on Sunday...what else can I wish for? Okay, I must admit that Saturday was a bit marred by that shit-loaded of eurovision that the Maltese persist in taking so seriously, but anyways, I were expecting such a result. Since I now have plenty of free-time I am indulging myself, body and soul, into preparing an in-depth holiday plan for Wales. I am quite pleased with the work done so far.

It's good that A-levels come only once in your life!!

The Secret

I cannot help but share the secret of life, as analyzed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in his book Le Petit Prince, with the rest of the world. The implication by the author is so true to life that one cannot but stop to reflect upon his or her life.

First he writes: " on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur " which literally translates to only the heart can see clearly. Saint-Exupéry suggests that the source of beauty is always something secret and invisible. Most often eyes miss what is important. People on earth lose sight of what they are looking for because they look with their eyes and not with their hearts. He criticises the mentality of humans regarding the fact that it seems as if they can never get enough. They buy 3 cars when a single one could serve them more than comfortably, they run around with more than one partner when they could find what they really want in a single person....the list is unfortunately never - ending.

Then he adds on: " c'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante " meaning the time spent on your rose is what makes your rose so important. People must discover the true meaning of things for themselves in order for those things to have value, otherwise we will never succeed in understanding the meaning of these things. It is the process of discovery which makes the results worthwhile. Objects, relationships and experiences are rewarding only if we invest time and effort in them.

But one should not stop at that. " Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé " ---> a person is forever responsible for what she or he has tamed. One cannot abandon the values, the love, the meaning and attention that are transmitted to him/her by those who regard him /her as occupying a special role in their life. The lack of this feature is what very often leads to emotional breakdowns, melancholy and disappointment all over the world.


Drawback: tears are the pain you risk by being tamed because not each and every person puts the same amount of time and effort in what he or she has tamed.

50 First Dates

Although the name might sound cheesy, this film was one of the best comedies that I assisted to lately. Not that I am a die-hard fan of comedies, but anyways! One of the main protagonists happens to be Adam Sandler and I don't know why but I have a soft-spot for this actor. The film is about the story of a guy who is afraid of commitments and as a result his type of relationships was always, but not invariably, a one-night stand. But this does not happen with Lucy, to whom he fell in love head over heels. What he did not know was that this girl suffered from short-term memory and she would not recognize him the very next day. He ends up having to win her over every single day! All in all, the movie has some really funny parts with some extremely hilarious personalities. The use of walruses and other sea creatures was also very enticing.
My rating: 3.5/5

Kemm nifilhu nixxidjottaw!!

'Nixxidjottaw' hija l-kelma li juza Francis Ebejer fid-dramm tieghu "Il-Hadd fuq il-Bejt" sabiex jirreferi ghall-attitudni ta' dawk il-Maltin li jwarrbu dak kollu li hu Malti waqt li jhaddnu valuri barranin. Bhalu nahsibha jiena. Bl-istess mod stupidu ta' kif ix-xadini jippruvaw jimitaw lin-nies, dawn il-Maltin jilaqghu kulturi (jekk tista' ssejhilhom hekk) barranin ghax minghalihom li tal-barrani kollox tajjeb.

L-istess tema nsibuha zvillupata fil-poezija "Incest-Notturnata lil Malta" ta' Mario Azzopardi. Il-poeta Malti li ghad fadallu d-demm jigri go gismu jistqarr kif quddiem dan il-pajjiz li tradixxa lill- valuri tieghu stess huwa jhossu mnezza' minn kull motivazzjoni. Azzopardi jzid juri bil-qawwa kollha kif din ic-cahda ta' gheruqna hija immorali daqs l-izvergnar ta' tifel jew tifla.

Nisthajjel li wiehed jistaqsi: mela ghalfejn, int, ma kontx minn ta' l-ewwel biex tiddedika dawn il-pagni tieghek bhala lok fejn jintuza l-Malti?
U jiena nwiegeb: hemm zewg ragunijiet ghal dan il-fatt.

L-ewwel wahda hi li fil-hajja ta' kuljum jiena nippratika hafna izjed il-Malti milli l-Ingliz u allura rajt dan il-blog bhala opportunita` fejn nista' nippratika u nesprimi ruhi bil-lingwa Ingliza. Apparti minn hekk, jiena m'hiniex kontra l-uzu tal-Ingliz anzi naghraf tajjeb il-bzonn tieghu fid-dinja moderna. Pero`, nemmen li wiehed ghandu jzomm bilanc u jaghmel uzu mill-kultura li trabba fiha qabel idur ghal dak li huwa esterjuri minnu. Min jahseb li billi jwarrab il-passat ta' pajjizu, ifisser li issa sar avvanzat jiddispjacini nghidlu izda huwa l-ikbar injorant li jista' jkun qed jghix fuq wicc id-dinja.

Kif tista' tkun qed tifhem lilek innifsek jekk qed titwarrab minn dawk il-karatteristici li int mibni bihom? Kemm se ndumu laqgha tal-barrani? Tul sekli shah bqajna l-istess; ningidmu u nergghu bhal cwiec immorru nitkarbu quddiem gnus ohra meta fir-realta` m'ghandniex ghalfejn. Ejjew ma ndardrux l-ghajn li qeghdin nixorbu minnha!!

Spicy Orange Beef

Last weekend my bf came up with the idea of cooking something different for the whole family. He set eyes on a spicy orange sauce with beef and rice. I also gave my part by cooking the meat (where there is food be certain that I am somewhere in the middle!) Anyway, the end result was so good that I thought it is worth sharing.

Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 pound round steak cut into thin strips, 1/4 cup orange peel cut into slivers, 1 clove garlic- minced, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup beef broth, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup sherry, 1/4 cup orange marmalade, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
In a wok, heat oil over medium high-heat. Add beed strips 1/3 at a time. Stir fry for 3 minutes or until browned, removing the done pieces to a plate lined with paper towels.
Return all the beed to the wok. Stir in orange peel, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute.
In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, sherry, marmalade, and red pepper. Pour this mixture into the beed, stirring constantly. Bring to boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: 4
Rating: 4/5

Oakwood Theme Park

It is quite rare that I take a look at the newspapers in the morning. However this morning was different and I can't help but thank Lady Fortune for this one. While browsing through a local paper at 200km/s, a small article caught my attention. It had to do with fun parks and roller coasters in Europe. And guess what? The roller-coaster in Oakwood theme park in Wales, better known as Megafobia, which we will be visiting next June ranks 4th in the top 10!! This wooden roller-coaster is also referred to as the 8th wonder of Wales by some travel journalists.

So fasten you seat-belts and here we gooooOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Karl Marx

While studying Sociology these last few days I happen to come across some quotations by Karl Marx that I believe are worth a thought:

• "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of the class struggle"
• "Man makes his own history"
• "Man makes religion, religion does not make man"
• "The more man puts into God, the more he retains from himself"
• "Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains. You have a world to win."

After aprroximately 2 centuries these theories have always remained very truthful to social reality.
Wearing badges is not enough! Wake up for the revolution!!!!

I can feel it

Yes, I can feel it in my bones that stress from exams is taking over once again. The first hint was yesterday night when at a not- so- good news, I immediately dropped gloomy and grumpy while knowing very well that the other person has no control over the situation. As a consequence, this person also fell silent and it is exactly at that point in time when I realized my mistake. I tried to alter my behaviour as soon as possible but I was afraid it might be too late.

The big day

The birthday festivities continued yesterday. Apart a very busy morning studying Sociology, the evening was again splendid. To celebrate the evening my bf took me to a Lebanese restaurant and I must say that I liked it a lot there. Altough the setting was not that typical the food was mouth-watering. I ate so much that against my expectation I hadn't any room left for dessert. I assume that my assistant-planner-boyfriend will call that "bad planning!" I am happy to announce that I was again the target of a bunch of presents. These new ones from the part of my bf had to do with camping, travelling and hiking stuff and which, I am sure, will prove useful in the coming June.

This is the backpack "Walkabout 45" from Lowe Alpine





And these are the quick-dry and light-weight towels from Gelert

Surprise Birthday Party!!

I never experienced a big a surprise as this one. An odd thing is that I didn't even suspect anything! Well I have an excuse for this one since my mind was focused on exams and I didn't feel like birthday was coming. Later I got to know that the person behind the planning was my assistant- planner-boyfriend (what a coincidence!!) As soon as we arrived at this typical Maltese wine bar I immediately noticed a table rounded with our friends (all of them) including my cousin. It was only then that I noticed that they might be there for me. Up to this point I haven't even noticed the balloons and the streamers that the barman very kindly had put up for the occasion. Actually, one of my friends had to remark that for me lol. While I was struggling to open my first presents another bunch of people arrived and these were my friends from college! I never ever dreamt that this might be possible!! Having said that, I did ask my bf about some curious calls and messages that he received but I didn't want to question him up to the point that he feels that I'm not trusting him as it comes to our relationship and stuff.

As it regards cards and gifts I really can't complain!! Here is the list:

1. Fun light bulb
2. Bubble bath from Gadjet
   
3. Xdye vest
4. Miss Sixty body cream
5. Accesorize necklace
6. Bag from Things
7. Another bag from Accesorize

I also have plenty of cards which will only be replaced when the next birthday comes. I really love cards!! One of them is really particular and reads something like this: "Women who think that they are equal to men lack ambition". (This is because I'm kind of a femminist.) Well I cannot but pass a comment of self-defence on this one. I do not think that women are equal to men. Actually, I believe that we are superior! Now, tell me who is it here that lacks ambition?!

All in all the atmosphere was great and although my college friends are not exactly the same type as my other friends everyone managed to integrate well. The good thing is that apart from munching on food (one of my favourite hobbies) and drinking, we also assisted to 2 films; Taking lives and House of Wax. Now comes the kinky bit of the story. As soon as the films finished, a blue film was showing on tv!! It took the barman quite long to realize what was happening and therefore we succeeded in viewing some clit playing and blowjobs as well. However, as the scene was passing to hardcore the barman switched the channel, no matter my insistence that now I turned adult lol.

Later I learnt that more ppl were invited but couldn't make it because of work and transport related problems. I appreciate tha attempt though and I thank from the bottom of my heart my bf and those other special people who made this birthday a one to remember!!

By the way

Just a side note: when you buy tuna dip from the cinema make sure that you get rid of the top lid before the lights are out, just in case you put it inside your bag by mistake while it is still full of tuna spread. Well, of course, I know about every stark detail of the consequences because this actually happened to me two days ago. Getting out your money to pay at some cash point with your purse smelling of fish is not one of the best feelings in the world!! From the optimistic point of view, the tuna and crackers pack was delicious. That makes the experience worth it!

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is a film of beauty. Beauty of landscapes, beauty of ideology, beauty of actors (except the sumo wrestlers of course! lol), anyway, beauty in all its forms. Altough rated only 6.8 on IMDb, I consider this movie one of the best that I have seen recently. It tells the story of a young poor girl who had to be separated from her family due to their miserable financial condition. The girl ends up in a Geisha school. These Japanese women are trained from childhood in conversation, dancing, and singing in order to entertain professional or social gatherings of men. This work did not carry with it the negative connotation as prostitution does in Europe and other countries. The work was considered as a privilegious one and above all, from various incidents during the film, the viewer gets to know that this is not about sex as Mother told Chiyo: "We do not sell flesh". As a little girl, Chiyo encountered a man who had bought her sweets and whom she loved for the rest of her life. She made it a point to meet him one day but destiny marred her plans by people who constantly corrupted her due to her innocence. However, after a whole sequence of breathtaking scenery she manages to at least have him in the end. Despite the fact that it is categorized under the genre of "Drama & Romance" and despite the happy ending this film is not the usual type of love story and certainly is suitable to any audience; male or female.

All is well that ends well

That's how the saying goes and I dare add that that's a fact. Life seems clearer now. Most of the personal problems are now over and I can therefore fully concentrate on more important things (i.e. exams). I have 4 of them this week. But I'm happy that they are near because that means that they will soon be a thing of the past. Also, I had a great weekend with boyfriend, family and friends. I can't ask for more. Moreover, my birthday is approaching bringing along with it dinners, cards and presents! I hardly can wait!! To put the cherry on the cake, our friend from Ireland confirmed that he will join us on the last weekend of our holiday in Wales. If I'm reckoning right, that will be the time when we're in Pembrokeshire including a day spent at the fun fair. I've no doubt that we're going to take those last 2 words as literally as we could. Voila` tout le monde raisonnable!!

Nostalgia

This is a bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past. It is also what I'm feeling lately when I'm studying. Flashbacks of what was happening in class or in my personal life keep getting at me with each page I turn. Not once or twice did I catch myself smiling sheepishly at the papers in front of me or else I feel the tears trickling down my face. I admit that the 2 years at Junior College were not the best school years I ever had. But when they are over and you realize that another chapter from your life is closed it's inevitable not to have such a sensation. I'm very sensitive these days. However, I always was the type of person that lives with memories from the past. I don't know, but they kind of make you feel more secure and give you courage and prosperity for the future. At the end of the day, it is a fact that you can escape reality by thinking of the past or of the future but you cannot escape your past because what is done is done and there is no turning back. Doing this too often might become dangerous I believe. I personally whish I was not so nostalgic. Sometimes I tend to compare present situations with past ones which is not always sensible since each experience is a new one and you have to live it as it is. So watch your balance please, Ms. Go Bananas!

This is the real thing now!

No more mock tests, assessments and things of the sort. It is the real thing now! The big day has come. Tomorrow I will have my French Oral exam. Since French is my forte I consider myself lucky of having an "easy" start. The exam needs preparation nonetheless because part of it deals with culture. But I'm sure I'll do well in this one. The worst has yet to come.

I received my last Academic Report and assessments from school. I didn't do bad at all with the result being as follows:

• English - 7
• French - 8
• Maltese - 6 (I know I deserve better in this subject and I revised the paper. I actually had one spelling mistake and some of the corrections by the teacher were wrong! Can you imagine that?)
• Sociology - 6 (Man I'm starting to hate this subject. Regardless of any attempt at improving I always keep getting this same mark. But perhaps this is what I merit)
• Environmental Science - 8
  

Anyway, this is all bullshit. At least, as far as English is concerned. For the last 2 years I haven't scored a mark below 6. However, in my annuals I only passed with 2 marks. This is the system here, you do well in tests and assignments but you fail in exams (as if!!) There are 2 possible solutions to this pathetic situation:

1. Teachers have been incompetent for the whole 2 years
2. Sense of fairness is a mystery for the board of examiners.

For the sake of practicality, I tend to lean towards the latter. I'm certain I'll have more to comment about this when the results are out. For the time being I rely on hope!

Life at the moment

I can't say that I'm really living at the moment. It's more a sort of a routine-based existence. This is the third consecutive day dedicated from 8.30am to 7.00pm to studying. The only variety is what to study, yes a very inviting choice indeed! This type of existence has to continue till the 18th of May, that is the date when I'll finish my exams and that is almost a month from now. A month!! A month like this!! But then again, that is not enough. Other personal problems and stuff surface just in times like these when your moral is already rock bottom. However, I have those special persons in my life which make my life worth living for. They are there, ALWAYS, even when they are going through bad times themselves. These people I thank from the bottom of my heart and I will love you and cherish you for the rest of time!!