Subscribe to this site's RSS feed.
It was my birthday earlier this week. I am now 32 years old.
I don’t consider myself older in any aspect than 10 years ago. Okay, maybe I do. Now that I think about it, 10 years ago I was crazier, I had never imagined I would settle down, and, why not, my skin was firmer back then. So yes, I do consider myself older nowadays.
Funnily enough, 10 years ago I used to think of someone in their thirties as really old. Maybe because back then, all the people I knew in their thirties already has settled down, had a mortgage, full time jobs, had married and kids were on their way. That was the conception I had of being old. And that is the description of who I am today. But people change their mind and perceptions tend to change as well as time goes by, and I no longer would consider someone in their 30s as old. To be completely honest, the best part of life has just started!
Okay, many people think that the best decade is your 20s. Mmmm.. It could be so. Depending on who you are and how life treated you, during this period of your life you probably experienced lots of freedom (leaving mum and dad’s house to go live on your own, probably at university), you probably had lots of crazy relationships and fell in and out of love a thousand times. You probably felt as nobody could touch you and you were better than anyone else. Lots of friends, lots of bars, lots of beers, lots of music, lots of concerts, lots of journeys, lots of late nights, lots of not being resposible enough, lots of “I don’t care”s, and lots of “I’ll do it tomorrow”s.
And then, one day, maturity knocks on your door. It may come in the shape of your ideal job, the one that you enjoy and care about. The one that gives you the money to do what you want, but the kind of money that you feel that you’ve “earned” and you’re more careful about spending it. Maturity may also come in the form of a lover. The one person who makes you realise that perfect doesn’t exist and understands even the most ridiculous aspects of yourself. Your better half. Your soulmate. The person you would follow to the end of the planet. It may also come in different and unexpected forms and shapes. Music, books, films. Little things that you would have simply not understood 10 years ago.
And one day, you wake up and realise that you’ve grown and matured. But you don’t care in the slightest, don’t care about the downsides of age because you know that you’re happy and everything is just right for you the way it is.
I’m stealing this Mark Twain’s quote from somewhere else, because I love it!:
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don´t mind, it doesn´t matter
On a lighter and less philosophical note, Jon took me for dinner to Benihana in London for dinner to celebrate my birthday. I must say that I loved it, although it wasn’t as good as the Tepanyaki that we had in the cruise in Hawaii. It makes me want to go to Japan more and more, but I know that it won’t happen any time soon 
This is a bit old, but just remembered it today and thought it appropiate to post it here (would be part of my “Things I hate about the UK” which I gave up a few months ago)
Interesting and sadly rather true…
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim
So, it is official now. My marriage is now recognized in both countries.
I must admit that I never gave much thought to the legalities of getting married. Somehow I thought that both governments would talk to each other and arrange all the paperwork on my behalf. Silly me, I know.
However, the beaurocratic side of things has been much less painful than it could have been. I mean, I did get married in England, under English law. All I had to do was to let the Spanish consulate know after all had happened. I married en June 09 and didn’t send all the paperwork until January 10. Yes, I took my time.
I had to send the original and a copy of the marriage certificate, the originals and copies of both Jon’s and mine birth certificates, some Spanish consulate form, filled in with the same details repeated again, and copies of our passports. Nothing had to be translated. Ah, and a self addressed and stamped envelope big enough for them to send me the Family Book. The only time that I had to contact the Spanish Consulate about anything was when I wasn’t sure about the size of the envelope. Not having seen a Family Book in years, I had no idea of its size and whether it would fit in the envelope I had, or not. I was very lucky to get my phone call answered the first and only time I called, as I’ve heard of many a case where constant telephone calls to the Consulate never get answered. Hopefully, I won’t have to contact them ever again.
Now, about the Family Book.
Some people think that having an actual paper-book, hand written with a ball pen, is soooo last century and very backwards. Especially in the second decade of the 21st century, when everything is computarised. However, I think it’s very cute. The fact that I have that book here with me, I can touch it, I can feel it.. It’s got a special thing about it. Yes, it can get lost. Yes, it can get damaged (my mum’s always had a huge coffee stain on it). And yes, it’s a pain in the arse having to do all your beaurocratic paperwork face-to-face because someone has to write in the damn book. But I feel a tiny bit more special for having it, much better than just being another entry in a huge computer database.
This long tradition of the Family Book is, however, going to end soon, as it was recently approved in Spain that the paper version of the Family Book will disappear towards a computarised system. In a way, I think it’s a shame. On the other hand, it’s evolution, baby.
The ball has started rolling and sooner than what we thought, we will be leaving our beloved house in Byfleet.
We have been here three years and a bit, and in this time we have learnt to love it but we have also had enough time to tire of its faults. It was our home, but a home that needed improvement.
When moving house on a budget, everybody knows that at some point you have to compromise. But however many things we have compromised on, this new house in Basingstoke is still so worth it.
What won’t I miss from Willowside? I won’t miss the noisy neighbours, I won’t miss the parking issues. I will definetely not miss the small kitchen and all the storage problems. I won’t miss the pebbled entrance, or the tiny-freezing-cold loo. I will easily forget about the electric heaters, the noisy pump and the non-mixer tap in the bathroom sink.
But there are also a few things that I am certainly going to miss. I will miss the proximity to work. I will miss looking out of the bedroom window from the bed and seeing all the trees full of birds and squirrels. I will miss the quiet and tranquility of my road after 9pm – no noise!. I will miss the fireplace. I will miss the village green and all the local amenities.
But when putting both lists on a balance, the new house has got so many more advantages that I will soon stop missing anything about the old house (except the short journey to work, I suppose). I wonder if I’ll still think the same after we’ve moved in!
We’ve had a Chinese Calendar in the office for the last couple of months. It turns out that my “horoscope” is the Horse, as I was born in 1978. I’ve read the short description for “horse” people in this calendar a few times, and I was always pleased about what it says.
According to it, “horse” people are:
Cheerful and popular, but impatient. Handy with money, always a winner.
Cheerful? Yep.
Popular? Well, not always.
Impatient? Yep.
Handy with money? Does this mean I am frugal? Then yes.
Always a winner? Discutible, but maybe?!
But then, curiosity was stronger than I would have liked, and did some googling and found tons and tons of websites about the Chinese horoscope (what a surprise… not!)
I am not really surprised to read several texts from different websites that contradict themselves so much (at least with the traditional occidental horoscopes you can find lots of similitudes, like all Leos are egotistical, all gemini have double personality, etc…)
But these are a selection of the ones I agree with, the ones I think describe who I am:
- However, the Horse’s sometime-appreciated frankness can be tactless
- Horses can be obstinate. In truth, they are more cunning than intelligent, and they know it. This is why, despite that air of assurance, the Horse lacks confidence in himself.
- Sometimes rash and willful, they can be prone to rapid changes of mood and, although seldom really explosive of temper, when they do see red, it is not a pretty sight
- Your are your own person-very independent. While intelligent and friendly, you have a strong streak of selfishness and sharp cunning and should guard against being egotistical
- Blessed with good humor and geniality, they are extremely comfortable to get along with for they have the knack of instantly putting people at their ease
- A person born in the year of the horse is generous, likes to join in fun, and are totally easy going persons
- They’re also capable of multi-tasking however they don’t always finish what they start because they’re forever chasing the next opportunity
- Horses are honest, friendly and open-minded. They’re perhaps a bit too centered on themselves and have been known to throw tantrums when situations don’t go their way.
- the Horse can become overtly jealous and offensive if he senses that someone else is valued more or treated better
- Unfortunately, as the Horse is a creature of changing moods he’s liable to lose interest suddenly in things he’s taken up
- They want others to work as quickly as they do, and if they fail to obtain satisfactory results, they are full of complaints and their faces become clouded
And the ones that I do not agree with (or don’t represent me!)
- They love to take center stage and delight audiences everywhere
- People born in the year of the horse are sanguine, sharp-minded, dress fashionably, gifted with a silver tongue, and have acute insight
- Their most striking point lies in their strong self-confidence, gentleness, and the ability to act as agents in financial transactions.
- they are impetuous and stubborn in temperament, and have fiery tempers
- they cannot recognize their own weaknesses, and are therefore slow to change
- he usually feels satisfied and is intoxicated with the small achievements he has made
- They like to be engaged in intellectual activities and sports, and people can see this from their skillful actions, graceful posture, and eagerness while speaking.
So, am I a horse or not?
