Back to work

Alright, it’s official! My two-week vacation is over! No more English breakfast, no more sleeping in, no more lazily hanging around in a terrycloth robe all day, no more reading or watching TV until the wee hours, no more room service and no more cocktails by the pool! (Alright, the last two were just wishful thinking … B&Bs don’t really have room service! But HE served me hot chocolate in bed thanks to the room’s coffee/tea cooking amenities!)

And now real life has caught up with me again, the daily grind has started after a weekend of getting everything in order to prepare myself for looong working weeks before the next vacation is due. Like unpacking, doing the laundry, watering my nearly dead flowers, filling up the fridge with healthier food than the one I brought back from my Britain vacation … do I need to mention, that I couldn’t leave without my Ovaltine, SPAM, Stilton and Cheddar cheese, Scones, Bagels, Cookies, Shortbread, Custard, etc etc? Well, the trunk of Rangey was stuffed.

Highlight of my first day at work apart from 203 unread emails? Showing off my brand-new grey M&S shift dress, which I bought in London – at the only Marks & Spencer store NOT catering to 60+ people … well, it’s my own fault to vacation in a small seaside town in September. You get the picture, don’t you?

So, there I am, back at work, dressed to the nines for a change (even though my dear colleagues, all male, didn’t quite seem to notice), trying to ease into it after my vacation … yeah, good luck! I was more like running around from one meeting to another, catching up on the stuff I missed, finishing up a document which needed to be sent out on the same – my first – day and not even managing to work through all my emails.

By the end of my first week back it seems as if my vacation had never happened and I’m counting the days to my next one … you are not surprised now that I have already booked my next trip, are you? Nope, not gonna reveal where I will be going. Just a little hint … not England for a change.

Sooo, have a great weekend and a good start into your working week!

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At the Giant’s Rest

At the Giant’s Rest

Long Man

Beachy Head

Tea Time

The suspense is killing you, isn’t it? Right now, you are contemplating googling it … and you would actually get a hit at the first try … or waiting for me to spill the beans. Well, since you have done the googling (who wouldn’t) you now know that I’m in Wilmington. And “The Giant’s Rest” is a typical British pub. Mystery solved! Has it? Guess, NOW you are wondering what in the hell I’m doing in Wilmington. Vacationing in Wilmington can’t be that exciting! And certainly not exciting enough to write an entire article about it and bore you to death! Darn, you got me! It’s just a pit stop at the foot of “Long Man”, every RC model glider’s paradise due to the wind conditions for slope soaring.

So, this is where I am right now, enjoying an Elderflower Fizz and a bowl of hand-cut chips with cheese while my beloved is flying two of his planes. With me taking a little time-out for myself to get my next articles flowing. And how they flow …

Oops, think I still haven’t revealed where we are actually staying: Eastbourne! There you have it! We are stationed in Eastbourne! A gorgeous little seaside town with its own Victorian Pier and Victorian tea room … of course, I couldn’t resist having Afternoon Tea there. First time ever for HIM. Sadly, I have to say that it was the worst afternoon tea I ever had, in true tourist style. Well, maybe I’m just spoiled in this regard, being used to the famous Betty’s Tearoom, hotels and the Queen Mary 2. I certainly need to make it up to HIM next time to make him experience REAL afternoon tea with a selection of sandwiches and cakes (not just picking one), homemade clotted cream (fluffy and creamy at the same time) and strawberry preserve (instead of cheap discount preserve never having seen a single fruit).

Nevertheless, what can I tell you? I’m in England and that’s where I need to be to find back to myself, find inner peace and relaxation. Find some time to read, to write, to just look at the sky, the hills, the sea, walking along the cliffs on Beachy Head, which is one of the most beautiful places on earth … and sharing this with my two sweethearts (my partner and my Rangey), makes everything so much better.

He did have to suffer a little, though! Even though this is a more low-key vacation, I had to discover that Eastbourne is not without some of my favourite shops. And have I mentioned that we took one-day trips to London and Brighton? I won’t go into details … but it was quite successful in terms of one of my favourite pastimes.

Finally

German Pizza

Italian Pizza

Finally, it’s here! My vacation! After a seemingly endless summer being stuck at the office, the only one left! With everyone else enjoying their holidays! Finally, it’s my turn to leave everything behind! Two blissful weeks of relaxation! And yes, this year I’m going away! Finally, finally, I’m going abroad again. Since my mini vacation of two days on a North Sea island totally sucked last year. Nothing else than rain, rain, rain. Moving from one café or restaurant to another, in between short walks on the beach whenever it was merely drizzling and back to the café. And, to make everything worse, the pizza place a friend had recommended because of its awesome pizza … served the worst pizza of all times. Tasteless dough, even more tasteless tomato sauce, huge chunks of onions instead of thinly sliced … I was glad to leave the island behind and was annoyed at myself for having thrown out the money. I wouldn’t exactly call myself relaxed and balanced after this mini trip.

Oops, guess I strayed from the actual topic once again. That’s definitely one of my weaknesses. Getting distracted, moving from one issue to the next just like that. Sooo, back to my feel-good-article. Because one just has to feel good when vacation is coming up.

When HE came into my life everything just fell into place and we both knew right away where we wanted to go. Even though he left the choice to me. Either going home to Austria with a few Italy days thrown in … or England. In the end, there has never really been a discussion what my choice would be. Or whether to do a beach or city trip. It would be a combination of both … some shopping, some sea time, some sightseeing, some relaxing. Pure and simple.

For now, I’m not going to reveal more about our “final destination”. After all, I need to keep up the suspense to make you envious of my vacation adventures. Apart from my car going home, the people, the food, the countryside, the cities … I’m looking forward to just sitting somewhere looking at the sea, letting my mind wander and doing some writing. I can already see myself and my precious Macbook enjoying the British climate and weather, watching the sea, the people, my boyfriend next to me reading or flying his awesome model planes … low key and relaxed. No stress, no pressure, no dressing up. Just being us. We so deserve this! Watch out, good ole England! Here we come, a crazy German and a crazier Austrian, who would prefer being British! Happy holidays!

Happy End

His

Hers

Remember one of my past articles? I was this close! THIS close to shutting down all three of my online dating profiles and just accept that my life and my love life sucks … and the men even more. And then HE stepped into my life. And now guess what attracted him most about me? My love for everything British. How funny is that? And, I have to admit, this was one of the things that attracted me to him most at first as well.

Me driving a British car sealed the deal for him … phew … just imagine if I had bought my ersatz choice: a Peugeot 3008. He really is NOT into French cars. Now, that did surprise me. But just a tiny little bit.

Our first date? Meeting for brunch at one of my favourite local restaurants and even though we had talked on the phone for hours before, we hit if off right away and spent a great day together. Basically, there was never much doubt with both of us that we wanted to go on, spending lots of time together to get to know each other. Slowly evolving.

After my past experiences, I never thought that I could actually meet someone again I could imagine it all. Someone who makes me feel like “coming home”. Enjoying the normal every-day life incredibly, everything, the little things, no doubts and no panic left at the thought of being together 24/7.

It’s been nearly four months now and it’s getting better and better. It’s amazing. Being with someone whose values and interests, way of doing things and living are so similar to mine. And still different enough to not make our life boring. Both free to pursue our passions while enjoying the things we do together. I am where I always wanted to be. Happy, content, home. Excitedly looking forward to the future and the adventures awaiting us.

Writing this, I still can’t believe I got my happy end. ME! After all the heartache! After everything! The lessons I’ve learnt? Plenty! But most importantly: never give up!

You think I’m seeing everything through “rose-tinted glasses”? I will let you be the judge of that … over the course of time …

Holy Crap

No, this posting is not what you think it is about! It’s got nothing to do with restrooms and bowel movements! It’s more the “holy” part that’s getting to me!

Being incredibly bored the past few days – having caught a virus thanks to a considerate colleague and therefore am too weak to get off my couch – I became quite acquainted with my TV set. Zapping from one channel to another – and not just my favourite list but all of the channels -, watching everything and anything from news to soaps, talk shows, court shows, series, movies … you name it, I saw it!

The most fascinating channel I came across was “Daystar”. If you know it, you better stop reading now … if you don’t, don’t worry! You haven’t missed anything! It’s crap! Holy crap – literally! Hour after hour weird guys are standing on stages, talking about faith and God and beliefs and Jesus and Christ and any fanatical religious crap you can think of! Fascinating, absolutely fascinating! So fascinating, in fact, that my eyes were glued to the screen and I just couldn’t stop watching.

I could hardly believe my eyes, though, as the cameras turned to the audiences. Huge audiences, hundreds, thousands of people who were clapping their hands, nodding and chanting along! I felt like an alien in the middle of a South American ancient cult sacrificing virgins. Open mouthed (alright, I also had a bad cold and had to breathe open mouthed anyway) all I could do was stare at the screen wondering once again where I had landed! It’s frightening seeing those conservative fanatics preaching about premarital sex – the biggest sin of all -, homosexuality as a disease and whatever else GOD wants us to do or not to do! Pure puritan 17^th century hell!

I can’t help shaking my head again and again! Those religious freaks – I don’t know how else to call them – seem to have forgotten all about history! In ancient Rome or Greece homosexuality was the most natural thing as was sex … I’m not saying everything was just peachy … but they certainly had fun, were open minded and advanced, built incredible architectural monuments – and what did it come to? Middle ages! Back to toilets without water flushing – think of a hole in a plank – and floor heating! Please, the Middle Agers didn’t even know what floor heating was! (And yes, I know, the Romans and Greek basically destroyed themselves with their decadence, which is really sad … cause I still like the imagination of having a God for everything …)

And the Bible! Oh boy, don’t get me started on the bible which these guys manage to quote up and down. Curiously only from the New Testament! Hm, I wonder why! Maybe because the Old Testament would be quite embarrassing with all the murder, mayhem and SEX!?

You wonder why I’m writing about this? Hell, I don’t know! Maybe because seeing this scared the shit out of me and made me laugh at the same time! Especially when the account number was discreetly running over the screen for all those sinning souls out there who want to buy themselves a good place in heaven.

It’s unbelievable that there is even one person who falls for this “crap trap”. (At least I only fall for shady car dealers …) But I guess it’s not much worse than our stately church tax every Austrian has to pay if he’s part of Catholic or Protestant faith. In Germany? It’s even deducted from your paycheck at a cheap 9%! (Well, not for me, but that’s another story!) At least with our taxes churches’ renovations, women shelters, etc are being paid of!

Basically I just want to say this: Humans are just humans! On the outside they may preach and pray but on the inside they’re just like everyone else … with faults and desires.