WHAT MADE YOU GRIMACE & GRIT YOUR TEETH TODAY?

how does one know how cold this is? lol

and for sure it's 12 here right now

sitting at the amsterdam airport again. this time for 6 hours. never again am i flying with klm or nwa, be it their fault or not... grrrrr.

Some inane Dutch twenty- or thirty-something wandering the korut in a USSR training jacket ... oh yeah, those are so hip in the loungy cafes of Amsterdam, oh ironic and cute y'know, but if you have to be a little daft to buy into that in the first place you have to be an utter moron to wear one here in Budapest ...

My friend. Grrr ... I think she's one of those passive agressive ones. I dont like passive agressive.

Things been a bit tense lately, so less communication than usual. But yesterday, when I came back from Zagreb, knowing she was out in Croatia this weekend as well, I dropped her an SMS saying, Hey, just came back from Zagreb, dont know if you're already back too, but if you are, wanna go out for a drink?

So today I get this SMS from her saying, "I'm still on the train, need rest tonight, but perhaps you can drop by at my place before [scheduled activity of hers] on [day] at 6, will tell all!". I write back, "oh, 'will tell all', sounds intriguing! But re 6 on Wed, i dont think i can get off work that early", and, joking: "that is, not unless i start at 9, but tho I like you a lot I dunno that I love ya that much! ;-)". (I'm a notorious late-starter and its one of those things everybody always jokes about, me included.)

OK, next SMS of hers: "I said thu, not wed, on wed I'm completely free. But I changed my mind, I'm tired, perhaps we can meet up stime next week, ok?"

WTF is that? First off, Wed or Thu, perhaps I was confused, but what diff does it make, I cant make it to her place at 6, that was the point. Secondly, what is this about telling me that, oh, btw I would have been able to meet you on Wed at a time you'd be able to, its just that i never told you that, but now i'm telling you only to say that i could have met that evening, but now i dont want to anymore.

I think I'm gonna take some (additional) distance to this girl...

My grimace for today (& tomorrow!):
A small group of us are taking on the local council about a development that is likely to cause an alarming increase of through-traffic in our quiet little streets (which are quite close to a very bustling centre of activity.) So this morning at 10 am we had yet another planning/strategy meeting in preparation for tomorrow night's meeting (after which the final decision will be made.) So guess who has to do the "We're furious about the consultation process that has gone on!" speech? Yep, moi! Trouble is, I'm really, really tired - the last few weeks at work have been horrendous & there are only 3 more days to go. So I'm going to have to rush home & work myself into a a state of righteous indignation AND make a great speech in this wobbly state. Wish me well! <grimace, grimace!>

"Where as mad as hell & we're not going to take this any more!"


Just practising!

Indigning yet, possum?

Good luck!!!!

I'm afraid tonight it's a bit: Grrrr ... ZZZZ ... Grrrr ... ZZZ, Deb!
I've decided that a good night's sleep is the best possible preparation. (Late night last night) Tomorrow I will be a force to be reckoned with! I really am furious with my council. AND bloody developers!

Msolga--

I'm on your side and we shall prevail.

Hold your dominion.

Go Msolga!!! You can do it!

nimh, only just saw the passive-aggressive friend bit, that sucks. Cheered to see you ready and willing to do something about it, tho. How's that gone since?

Soz, not great. We exchanged a friendly email or two, even talked of joining up for New Years Eve (expats without family here, after all, we're all looking for a party to join). Then we were supposed to meet up but she cancelled cause she was ill and had to be in bed for 24 hrs. That was ... last week Friday. Didnt hear back, sent her an SMS myself a few days ago to say that, this time, its me who was at home sick and bummed, and in response she SMSd her commiserations and said also she's sorry, really busy, non-stop till next Wed. On Thu I'm off to Holland, so probly wont see her before that (before NYE, if thats indeed oddly when we'll meet up again).

Out of the loop, apparently. Weird. Even looked it up (being sick and all, I had nothing else to do but sleep and read, of which I did lots), I think we saw each other, like, 10 times in 8 weeks or something - and then, now, 6 weeks already of nothing. OK, so we're all sick, we're all busy, but there's just this point where you're pretty sure someone's avoiding you (consciously or unconsciously).

It's all great - not - cause my best friend here ("Susannah") and I also had a big fracas the other day - apparently I did something that triggered some big sensitivity left by her ex, and she promptly backed out of going with Holland with me for Christmas. For which we'd already booked the tickets and everything. Did it by SMS too. We've talked it out by now, but communication remains strained (I wasnt exactly a happy camper about it either).

In short, the two friends I made here that had kinda come to form much of the basis of my new social life here are both now - precarious. Feel like I'm back at square one, basically. Bit lonely, but like I said, I was sick anyway, and Ive been reading a lot. Sucks, thats all.

Aw. Sorry that you've been sick, too, that tends to make everything harder to bear.

It sounds like both of these problems are not insurmountable, though. Even if it's hard to muster the energy to think about surmounting them.

Take care.

Aw, thanks, Noddy. You know, I'm certain I felt your presence as I gave my speech!
And thanks, Deb & soz for your encouragement, too.

First the bad news. We lost the fight, with some "concessions" gained. Of course, we always knew that the Council would support the developer, that's the way it goes around here.

Now for the good news! We put up an excellent, well coordinated fight! Furthermore, about 30 locals turned up to support us. (Not bad at all, considering everyone is in Christmas shopping/party mode right now. We were a strong, united presence & couldn't have done a better job, I think.

But you want to know about my performance, yes? :wink: Well, I was so nervous, I came home & wrote my speech out three whole times, till I got it just right. Then when my <gasp> big moment came, you know, I think I actually did a good job! I said everything I wanted to say as forcefully as I could (without appearing to be a nasty-pastie, mind! ) And guess what? I got a big round of applause from the assembled gallery when I finished! So there you go, my first big public speech! And I learned how to say that you (council) folk are sneaky & unfair & that this has been a totally unfair, biased process, in the most perfectly acceptable way! Hey, you think I might have a future as a politician?

God show, Olga!!

Why thank you, nimh! But do you really think I'm a god already? :wink:

WMYGGYTT: The farkin idiot who decided to clean our stairwell this morning, with a nice sheet of water - when its freezing outside.

Took me ten minutes to shuffle down those four stairs, holding on to the railing like a frail old man.

LOL! Errm ... yeah, where'd that "edit" button go?

Why not finally admit defeat, nimh? (I mean, it isn't shameful or anything ....) But you, my dear, are clearly not designed for a freezing cold climate! It doesn't make you happy! I think you should seriously consider doing the Gauguin thing & say goodbye to all that!

Well, sure, if someone knows a good job for me in Tahiti ...

"I should be lying on that sun-soaked beach with her / Caressing her warm brown skin"