In the Twilight Zone

I am having a bit of a strange day. Another one? Yes another one! It seems that my past is starting to haunt me. Hmm.. that sounds like I have a dark nasty secret and I hate to disappoint you all…. but I have not :)

Some time ago I wrote the Lost and Found entry and as I told you then, instead of me finding my friends, people seem to find me. Last weekend, this happened again. One of my classmates from primary school found me. I don’t remember much from my primary school time, so at first I really enjoyed this renewed contact, but now I’m not so sure anymore. Why? Well this guy told me he was in love with me way back then. Funny isn’t it? No it isn’t and I will tell you why.

Last year the same thing happened to me. A guy from primary school contacted me. We met and we visited our old school. After our little visit we had lunch and then he told me I was the love of his life. Scary :( Hmm… now that I’m reading this, it don’t sound scary at all, but the guy is married and has a kid. So we laughed about his little confession and emailed each other for a while….that was fun. Until he started talking about a relationship and divorcing his wife to be with me :( He even told his wife this before talking to me, so his wife threatened me; she was going to get me and so on. A lot of bad things happened. That was not so much fun; I’m not a home wrecker! We still email sporadic now, and he is still married, but it wasn’t a pleasurable experience.

And now there is this new guy. Told me he loved me way back when in his second email and how old feelings returned when he saw our old school picture. He is very enthusiastic/eager and wants to know all about me and that scares me a little bit. Hmm… maybe I should stop writing those funny and inspiring emails (yeah I know I write pretty damn well in Dutch, I have a way with words in my native language :)) to him. *sigh* Like I said, I’m having another strange day. But hey, there is one positive thing; at least this guy is single :)

Video Tuesday: breaking wind, Jurassic style

Is age difference still an issue?

The other day I saw this movie called Prime and the story is rather simple actually: Uma Thurman plays Rafi, a 37-year-old successful fashion/business-woman. She just got divorced and is seeing a therapist (Meryl Streep) for that. One night, at the movies, she meets David, a 23-year-old with a not so interesting job and some amazing painting skills. The first encounter leads to a first date, the first date to a first kiss and... once again Cupid fires off two direct hits. Little do they now about the mutual person (Meryl Streep) running around in their lives who'll soon find out about their relationship. I liked this movie a lot but this is not going to be a movie review, I rather like to talk about the age-difference thingy. Is this really still an issue?

When a guy is in his fifties and she is thirty, the guy gets congratulated but when a fifty year old woman falls in love with a thirty year old guy, there must be something wrong with the both of them. She is a “cradle robber”, he finally found the mother he’d never had. I believe there are people who enter into a relationship for all the wrong reasons (financial reasons, psychological problems), but I also believe that there are many people who truly fall in love with those who are much younger or older than themselves.

Although it is a fact that most of us will develop a key relationship with someone who is within three years of our own age, there are those who will go far beyond that standard. Is this wrong? No I don’t think so; in fact I believe that such a relationship can be very fulfilling when both parties really care about each other and love each other. Age difference is just another type of committed relationships that make up the fabric of our society. Man divided the years into 365 days, but he did not hinder some women from being younger at forty than others are at twenty, and some men from being older at twenty than some men at fifty.

I really like this thing one of my friends always says about love and falling in love “I don’t fall in love with a gender or an age; I fall in love with a person”. I can only say: hear, hear!

My message to you :)

Okay....

I’ve made up my mind. I will be back on Monday, February 27th.

Taking a break!

I am taking a break from blogging for a while.

I don’t know when I’ll be back, could be in a couple of days, could be next week or next month.

No special reason, I just need some space, get some fresh ideas and perspective. I hope to “see” you all when I get back :)

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

Today is NOT a writing day. I have about three or four stories in my head and none of them wants to come out…..It’s a bit like playing hide and seek with my thoughts. Silly, but true. When I start one story, another one tries to creep in…. so that is not working. Luckily I came across something completely different on bbc.co.uk to write about, so here it is.

Scientists to study speed dating

Scientists are planning to stage a mass speed dating experiment to discover whether opposites really do attract. They are seeking 200 people to take part in the event, which will be part of this year's Edinburgh International Science Festival in April.

The study is being carried out under the gaze of Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire. "This is the first time that speed dating has been used to assess the psychology of compatibility," he said. "People often believe that they are good at predicting what types of people will get on with one another, and it will be interesting to see if they are correct."

The volunteers will be asked to complete a personality test, take part in a series of five minute meetings with potential suitors, then say how much they liked those they met.

It is hoped the data will show whether people with different personalities get on best, or whether similarity is the secret of success.

For me it’s true, opposites do attract…..can’t help it. It has always been that way and I’m not talking about taste in food, music or movies, I’m talking about hobbies, passions, opinions. I found that opposites can actually help a relationship by introducing each person to a whole new point of view. Or like they said in another article: contrasting personalities is a positive; nobody wants to date themselves, after all.

Happy Valentine’s Day

"The question of love is one that cannot be evaded. Whether or not you claim to be interested in it, from the moment you are alive you are bound to be concerned with love, because love is not just something that happens to you: It is a certain special way of being alive. Love is, in fact, an intensification of life, a completeness, a fullness, a wholeness of life." -Thomas Merton

Video Tuesday: There should be a dress code :)

What does your key-ring express?

The other day I posted this alphabet photo on 43T – K is for Keys. Of course my Piglet key-ring got noticed (like so often) and that resulted in this interesting question by Wanderingthinker: “Piglet? My keyholder expresses a part of my personality. Is it the same for you?”

Like I said, interesting question. I’ve never thought about that. I have had the weirdest key-rings over the years: there was a fluffy giraffe, a frog (that actually was a prince charming in disguise according to a friend), a Saint Christopher, a nametag, a mini Maglite and so much more.

But back to the question: Does Piglet express part of my personality?

Let’s see:
Piglet clearly suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and needs to be placed on an anti-panic agent……..well, that’s not me!

Piglet’s general traits: timid, sensitive, honest, reliable, compassionate, just, generous, ordinary, tends to mistake fear for lack of courage – when in a pinch, however, can overcome his fears admirably, is afraid of the unknown, runs away from his problems, is not known for his brain – but knows his strength and weaknesses well and perceives those of others clearly,

Funny…..I’m actually part Piglet. Guess I’ve learned something today

How about you. Does your key-ring express part of your personality?

Sort of tagged

No inspiration today, so I got this from Kat’s blog

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so

1) Ultimate Writer
2) MikeChau
3) Jessie Griffith
4) Kat
5) Dakota’s Habitat

Next select five people to tag:

I'm not going to tag anyone but if you want to do this please add your name to the list.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
10 years ago…..hmm… I’m not sure. I was living with a guy, worked and visited Norway, Denmark and France that year. Sorry, I don’t remember something special :)

Five snacks you enjoy:
Chocolate, fruit, Ben & Jerry’s, cake, Digestive biscuits.

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
Paradise by the dashboard light - Meatloaf
Single – Natasha Bedingfield
The Scientist - Coldplay
You’re Beautiful – James Blunt
Glory Box - Portishead

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
I don't do the lottery, but I would:
have an outrageous party,
donate some of it to charity,
travel the world,
buy a house,
start something.

Five bad habits:
Huh? I don’t have any bad habits ;)

Five things you like doing:
Reading
Exercising
Blog
Learning
Listening to music/watch movies

Five things you would never wear again:
Leggings
Real high stiletto's
Blue eye shadow or blue mascara
Mini skirt
Pink lipstick

Five favourite toys:
Cell phone
Digital camera
Computer
iPod
DVD player

And the winner is……..Finbarr O’Reilly.

Canadian photographer Finbarr O’Reilly wins premier award

The international jury of the 49th annual World Press Photo contest selected a color image of the Canadian photographer Finbarr O'Reilly of Reuters as World Press Photo of the Year 2005

The picture shows the emaciated fingers of a one-year-old child pressed against the lips of his mother at an emergency feeding clinic in Niger. A devastating swarm of locusts and the worst drought in decades left millions of people short of food in the African state. The picture was taken in Tahoua, northwestern Niger, on 1 August 2005.

You can find all the winning photo’s here. I was delighted to see that Todd Heisler was one of the winners too. He has won 1^st prize: People in the news, stories.

Oh, my god…..why on earth do I do things like that?

One of my 43T is: become a Wikipedia contributor. Great plan! So I signed up last week. As you all know I wasn’t in great shape then so I didn’t contribute anything. Well this is a new week, with new possibilities.....so, let's do it!

I intended to translate some articles to Dutch because the foreign Wikipedia’s are much more elaborate. Translating stuff still sounds like a great plan, now doesn’t it? But am I translating, of course not. No, instead I’m writing a whole article (in Dutch) about the history of handbags. Nothing weird about that, you might think, but here is the weird part………I DON’T EVEN LIKE HANDBAGS! If it is at all possible I don’t even use a handbag. Why not? Because: I like to have my hands free, they are always getting in the way, they are either too small - so all the things you need won’t fit, or the are too big - so you have to bring extra stuff because you don’t want to walk the streets with an almost empty bag. But let us forget unpractical handbags, back to writing the article. Believe it or not I’m actually researching the history of handbags; I even went to the library. I am learning things I didn’t want to know about handbags ;) It’s a horrible job, but somebody got to do it, it might as well be me. But the question remains: why on earth do I do things like that?

Oh and to make things even worse…. I did a handbag quiz. It's official: I'm losing my marbles :)

You Are a Classic Gucci Bag You've got style mastered - because you stick with what works Like this Gucci Bag, you prefer classic items that stand the test of time You're also a bit of a practical girl, who prefers function over fluff You prefer a big bag, so that you can have your stuff with you at all times What Kind of Handbag Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

A Lost and Found update.

Last month I wrote this little piece about my search for long lost friends and how I came across the email address of one of them. Like I said then, I tried to verify that I had the right address but that was getting me nowhere. So after careful consideration I decided to just send an email. In that email I just simply asked if he was the person I was looking for. Two weeks later I got this reply: No, I’m not!
Bummer….. I just have to keep looking, I guess.

Interesting quote about Attitude

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes."

-Charles Swindoll-

Video Tuesday: Sometimes people are just not impressed :)

Naturally!

You scored as Natural Causes. Your death will be by natural causes, though not by any diseaese, because that is another option on this test. You will probably just silently pass away in the night from old age, and people you love won't realize until the next morning, when you are all purple and cold and icky. So be happy, you won't be murdered. Natural Causes 80% Disappear 60% Eaten 53% Bomb 47% Cut Throat 47% Gunshot 40% Suicide 40% Disease 27% Stabbed 20% Posion 13% Suffocated 7% Accident 0% Drowning 0% How Will You Die?? created with QuizFarm.com

Mr. McDonald’s, please don’t ‘Super size me’

I finally got the chance to see ‘Super size me’, a great documentary!. I can highly recommend this movie if you are interested in nutrition, (fast) food or McDonald’s. I can also suggest it to people who want to lose weight. Watching this could be very inspirational and motivating :)

Summary: The latest statistics show that two out of every three Americans are overweight, and about one out of every three of those persons is obese. Morgan Spurlock, decides to eat three meals a day at McDonald’s for thirty days, to see how it will affect him. He must eat every item on the menu at least once during the thirty days, and he must super size anything he orders when super sizing is suggested by the McDonald’s employees. And the outcome is not a pretty picture :)

One other thing this documentary will do is change the way you look at McDonald’s marketing, health and fast food. And if the documentary doesn’t alter your view, the bonus material probably will. One of the bonus items is called ‘the smoking fry’. That’s sounds promising! They did a food experiment. In the office they had some glass jars with a lid. McDonald’s (and some regular) burgers and fries were put in separate jars and they were kept at room temperatures. The decay was monitored and of course things started to get mouldy pretty soon…… except for the French fries. After 10 weeks the French fries looked exactly the same as the first day. Now how freaky is that? Can you imagine having that in your system? That can’t be right, now can it?

Like I said, interesting documentary, it's an entertaining and thought-provoking film and leaves you wanting more…….more healthy food, that is!

Oh and that doesn’t mean that you should go for the new “healthy” salads. According to the documentary, their new premium ranch chicken salad with dressing delivers more calories than a Big Mac and 51 grams of fat, 79% of your daily fat intake.

Insomnia – the final entry (for now)

I had a great time at the spa Friday. It was very relaxing! When I returned home I just locked the door, dropped my bag, turned off the phone, grabbed a bottle of water and I went straight to bed. I slept for 8 hours! Woo hoo! I would have liked to sleep much longer but one of my neighbours decided that Saturday, February 4^th, was the perfect day to start some building work. He was busy with a sledgehammer, an electrical saw, bricks and lots of other stuff. Bummer!

So, yesterday I bought the herbal night rest pills and again, I enjoyed the pleasure of a good night sleep. I’m feeling soooo much better. Still not fully rested but I’m getting there :)

Thanks for all your nice comments people! Instead of answering them all separately, I wrote this little update in its place :)

Trouble in Blogland?

I don’t know what’s going on, but comments seem to disappear from my blog. Just so you know….. I didn’t delete them :)

Insomnia – the story continues!

First of all I want to thank everyone for their nice comments on my previous insomnia post :) Thank you! Second: I wanted to update you all today.

Last night I slept pretty well actually….. No, that’s not true, I slept better. I woke up 4 times instead of the almost normal 8/10 times. I don’t know if the shower or the warm milk (with anise) did the trick because I was probably just to worn out to stay awake :)

Tonight I’m going to try something different though. I’m going to unwind in the sauna and enjoy a very relaxing massage afterwards. They probably have to carry me home :) I usually sleep like a baby after a sauna visit.

I’m still not sure why I can’t sleep a whole night. Sure, I suffer from insomnia from time to time but not like this. When I had it before, it usually had to do with stress or worries, but I’m neither stressed nor worried. Strange?!

I’m starting to think it has to do with the weather; it has been dark, foggy and grey most of the week. Maybe I’m lacking melatonin or something ;)

Who knows……. I hope the sauna is going to do the trick. If that doesn’t work I’m going to get some herbal remedy I have used before which is called Nachtrust (night rest) by Bional. It contains valerian, hop, melissa and vitamin B1. I am going to stop this……one way, or the other :)

Bono calls on U.S. to give part of budget to poor

Today, Bono (U2 frontman) addressed the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., reaching across divides to ask policy makers and faith leaders to do more to beat global AIDS and extreme poverty and calling on the U.S. to give an additional 1% of the budget to this fight.

Should the U.S. take Bono’s advice and devote an additional 1% to beating AIDS and poverty? Vote in an online poll now!

Insomnia

Is a great Faithless song…. But that’s the only positive thing I can come up with when I think about insomnia! Insomnia sucks, big time! Why am I thinking about insomnia? Well, that question can be answered easyly; I haven’t had a decent night sleep since last Saturday. So, you could say that insomnia has been on my mind lately. I have no problem with falling asleep, the problem starts later….. I keep waking up…… 8/10 times a night! Now I’m worn out, sleepy and I can’t even think straight. And that’s not all….. I’m sulky, cranky and I’m turning into a real horrible person. So, no happy and cheerful blog entry today.

I have been trying to solve my problem by drinking camomile tea and meditation, but no luck thus far. So tonight I’m going to have a warm shower and drink warm milk (yuk). I really hope it's going to work. Wish me luck!

Balance days

Wow, that almost sounds like a circus act doesn’t it? But it’s not! It’s just the new healthy advice the Dutch Nutrition Centre came up with. The Dutch Nutrition Centre conducts projects and campaigns to promote a healthy diet pattern.

So, how does the balance day work?
Quite simple actually. A balance day is a day ‘less’ after a day ‘more’. Did you eat too much yesterday, then today will be your balance day. A balance day is NOT a diet day. On your balance day you will watch what you eat and move/exercise more. That way, things will balance out and your weight will stay the same.

When will you need a balance day?
When you have eaten too much, you can feel overstuffed. Do you need a balance day? Probably not! It all depends on your normal eating behaviour. When will you need a balance day then? Example: Normally you eat 2 sandwiches and an apple for lunch. But today you want something different. You eat 2 rolls with brie and another cheese, a packed of crisps and piece of pie. Instead of walking to work, you took the car/bus. It’s clear that you consumed more and burned fewer calories then you would do on a normal day. Time for a balance day I would say :)

It’s your choice, your responsibility.
Take a balance day, or just leave it. A ‘more’ day is not always easy to recognize. It’s so easy to eat something extra: cake on somebody’s birthday, an extra snack/packet of crisps, candy bar or a few extra pints or glasses of wine. If it’s just every now and then, that’s okay…. But if it happens on a regular basis, you will gain weight because of all the extra calories. You are the only one who knows what you really ate. Take your responsibility and take a balance day!

Note:
A balance day is not a diet day. So don’t skip meals! Eating very little is also out of the question. Just make healthy choices, do an extra workout or take a longer walk then usual.

Oh… and it works! I’ve been doing this for a long time now (so, it’s not as new as the Dutch Nutrition Centre thinks) and my weight is always the same…..well, almost always; the holiday season doesn’t count ;)