Another day, another town

I visited Totnes yesterday and even though I'm on the fence about the town and the atmosphere, I'll let my pics do some of the talking for me. 

These are pics I took along the beautiful river Dart. I found the scenery breathtaking!
The town itself was - or at least to me it seemed - built on a hill. So going up the high street was a climb. But it was worth it. It gave me a chance to glance at the shop fronts of little boutiques and novelty nooks. The whole place to me seemed to have the air of "I saw you coming". There's a sketch on Harry and Paul about it.
A lot of the shops were new age-y and most of them had the price tag to match!
Having said that, the infrastructure itself is worth seeing! Beautiful Elizabethan and Edwardian buildings with breathtaking windows.
John and I visited the Totnes Museum and St. Mary's Church. And although I'm not one to frequent churches as places of worship, I did enjoy the architecture and painstaking details. And of course the stained glass windows. It was, purely from a secular point of view, amazing!

I also have to give praise to the British way of respecting the old architecture and infrastructure. In stead of demolishing old buildings and erecting new ones, the old buildings are adapted and changed into shops and cafés. This way the old can co-exist with the new in harmony. And purpose and aesthetics can shake hands. 

Up the hill.

A lot of these pics don't really have to do with what I just wrote. But I think they are happy go lucky pics and also a bit touristy. Well, that's because I am a tourist!  :P
And yes, I have many pics of doors on my computer. I don't know what it is exactly that obsesses me to take pics of doors. I know the colour has much to do with it.

St Mary's Church.

Artsy

Artsy

Artsy.

So yes, I'm a bit touristy and a bit artsy. But I love taking pictures! I walk around with my little camera and shamelessly snap pics of things I find interesting.

Until next time!
x x

Just a brief entry. Had a brilliant day, will write all about it another time. Now here's some videos. Like I already wrote on Facebook An apple chomping juggler, playing the recycled drums and nearly joining a circus. Plus great food and movies and wonderful company. That's my day in a nut shell. :D


Here's a video of me playing recycled drums. :D 

And the next video is that of the funny apple chomping juggler.

 

And from all of this, from having had a great day I realized a few things. First of all, I saw this act once before I went to play that day. I watched with excitement how they played these makeshift instruments and listened to the beat of it. I was engulfed in the beat and in the moment. But when the performers said that the spectators could also participate and actually play i froze. I wanted to SO much but something stopped me and in that moment I hated the person I was.
The performers took a break, promising to come back. I vowed to myself I'd come back as well and play. I got support from the beautiful Hopkins' and armed with new found confidence we went to see them again.
And again I froze. It wasn't the fear of failure as I didn't feel there to be any judgement. 
And standing there in the crowd I made an angry, desperate plea to myself: I've come all this way to live my life. I've come all this way to fight my demons and if not win, at least give them a run for their money. And all the struggles and the long journey to find peace and happiness I'd falter at the first hurdle.
And I won! I won the argument with myself and had fun. The kind of fun that envelops you, takes over everything and sits into every atom of your being. I felt alive, I felt free and at one with the music. I felt that life was sharing a secret with me, that beauty and courage and enjoyment is there, in every moment as long as you're wiling to open up to it and let go of the things holding you back.

Of course I understand that not every day is Carnival. But the lesson is there. That every day holds a moment of beauty and serenity. And sometimes the whole universe is wrapped in that one moment.

I've come to realize that moving to another country is a process more than anything. Not just the physical shipping of myself and my belongings, that was the easy part. But everything I am, everything I've come to know about society and how the world works. At least in my own micro -cosmos that is.
It is a bewildering experience and a challenging process. It is not about discarding my old understanding but assimilating and acquiring parts of this new world into everything. In reality I'm weighing everything I thought I knew about my micro-cosmos against this new, exciting and exotic culture. And with that I've noticed that I also have to question the value of my previous knowledge to begin with and then question the value of the new knowledge opening up in front of me.
So at the moment I'm only sure that I'm not sure of most things..


The notion of friends and enemies, right and wrong,  my past, present and future all tangled up in a mess of uncertainty. Which is worse, good things happening despite bad intentions or bad things happening despite good intentions?

I sometimes feel like I'm surrounded with happy, smiling wax figures. I feel as is their sincerity is insincere and all a part of the weave that is their cultural heritage and the knowledge they have of how the world works. I feel like a sad Don Quixote in the land of real and imaginary windmills.




Though excited and living my dream I do feel hopelessly lost at times.

Hiya!

I hope you are all well and feeling sunny!
I've had an interesting day. Between unemployment, feelings of solitude and fighting the insurance company I'm trying hard not to get depressed. I know this is a passing stage and I know this is also very normal for anyone who has moved to another city/country. But it was odd feeling like a tourist in my own life.
I've never been super good at making friends and even though the language isn't an issue, I don't meet people or get an opportunity to connect with them. Mainly of course because the people I do meet are usually at the till in the role of employee and I'm in the role of paying customer. :)
So I watched a few videos on Ted.com. I love it! It's so amazing to be able to listen to all these great minds convey their thoughts online. The only problem is that one can't have a dialogue with them. I admire intelligent people and aspire to become one. I know it's right there in the category of Wildest Dreams alongside the dream of becoming the Queen of Moominvalley. But I guess there are worse dreams..

Here's a dreamy pic from the beautiful seaside town of Teignmouth.

I guess it's not really about being intelligent or wise, even as words they seem too much for me to handle. But knowledgeable in many fields. I'd like to be one of those people that other people like to have conversations with and respect me for my views.  At the moment I'm not exactly sure where I am with that. I do know however, that I like listening to other people and I'm very inquisitive.

Ok, enough about me, what about you? If you have anything to say/add to the blog entry, please do so!

Keep calm and carry on!

Another day, another entry.


This morning started off quite well, I discovered I've won a bottle of Heinz Hot Sauce! :D
I love everything hot and spicy, so this was definitely a WIN. 

And of course pics or it didn't happen, so here we are:

I also went to the hospital to show my wrist at the fracture clinic. All is good and the nice doctor told me the healing process could still take anything from 6 to 8 months! :O But at least it's well in its way.

I also visited the Lidl next to the hospital and bought some RYE BREAD, cottage cheese (because the British one is dubious) and Honey Toilet paper (whatever that means).  So I've been active and adventurous all day!

I also started reading about Humanism. I've always thought of myself as a non-angry Atheist and been quite content with that. But this Humanism business sounds good too. I need to do a bit of reading about it before making too many hasty conclusions. But so far so good.

Oh, and I have to show you guys some pictures I took yesterday while walking with N and his dad at Decoy Country Park.

Here's the official bit of Decoy Country Park, according to http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8650

Decoy Country Park provides an opportunity to enjoy formal playing fields and a large children's play area with a water play feature. Other popular amenities include a lake supporting water sports activities and a deciduous woodland with a trim trail incorporated into it.

Decoy was once a clay quarry but now supports a wealth of wildlife, with the main habitats being ponds, streams, fen, wet woodland and heath woodland. Parts of the Country Park are either a County Wildlife Site (CWS) or a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Park provides opportunities for quiet countryside recreation such as walking, wildlife watching, duck feeding and picnics, with good wheelchair and pushchair access.  Educational facilities are provided at the Decoy Discovery Centre.

All these pics are taken by yours truly! I just felt so humble, so privileged to be there. It looks enchanted and that it truly is. I can't believe such a haven is located so close to everything and yet it's undisturbed. There were no drunks, no litterers, no loud or rude people. Just humans enjoying their environment and the beauty of nature. I felt proud being a part of it!

See you soon!

Hello again,


Nothing for years and then suddenly two in the space of as many days! Blog entries, that is..


I'm still trying to learn all of this. Life, blogging, everything. So please be patient with me.


*I've packed my bags and moved to the UK.
 I made my childhood dream come true. I moved to the UK! I live with my ex-husband/boyfriend N down in Devon, South-West of England. I finally feel like I've come home. I feel free, my anxiety, OCD and panic disorder, all gone! It is an immensely empowering feeling to finally have control of your own life. 

Of course I had to leave everything behind to achieve it. I do miss my family a lot. But they all support me and are happy for me. And thanks to modern technology I can talk to them on a daily basis. We mostly use Facebook, Skype and the smartphone application WhatsApp.
Whatsapp is brilliant! You download the app and you get to text other people who have the app, for free! After the free one year trial it'll cost less than 1£ a year!  

And of course I've revived the ancient tradition of  writing letters and postcards. I mean the old school, Actually putting pen on paper, writing your thoughts down - kind of writing. I love it, although it is weird not to be able to alter what you've already put down by just a click of a button. :S
 
Today is Father's Day here in the UK and N's father is coming over for  Father's Day lunch.  He is a true gentleman, a beautiful soul. Well, N and his father alike. 

Here's some pics of the beautiful town I live in. Apart from the swan, that we saw in Plymouth. And yes, they are palm trees on picture 3! Sadly I think I might be allergic to them because my nose is itchy and I keep sneezing.. Although it could be any of the new Florae and Fauna down here. 

Oh well, I have to dash. Shower and getting ready for N's dad.  And I am aware that this posting doesn't have anything to do with cosmetics. And I know I said it would be.. But the human mind is fickle, get used to it!

Keep calm and carry on!
x

Hiya all, I'm back!
It's been a busy few weeks again, haven't had the time to blog.
But I have had a chance to read a fantastic book, Matt Rudd The English. It's really funny and easy summer reading. :)
Next on my list is Paul Ekmans Telling lies. It's the book that the TV-show Lie to me is loosely based on. I have to say I loved that show. Especially Tim Roth, he is one HOT man! But also I really just enjoyed the slightly over emphasized talent of being able to read peoples body language and micro expressions and tell if they are in fact lying.


Even though at the moment things are veiled in sadness due to a death in the family, I know that everything will be ok again. I'm just hoping to be of help and support to all my grieving loved ones.

And I'm still looking for work. So nothing major has changed in my life in the past couple of weeks. But of course there are the big changes, the ones marked by the asterisk!

Next entry will probably be about something girly. Maybe nail polishes or other cosmetics. Just because! :P

Talk to you soon!