Dear Diary

An interesting idea, meal wise...actually, the yoga has become a very activity. I have greater flexibility which helps me do everyday tasks.

An interesting idea, meal wise...actually, the yoga has become a very activity. I have greater flexibility which helps me do everyday tasks.

Dear Diary

Last Tuesday I was lifted up on a beam of bright white light and into an interstellar vehicle and was placed gently onto an operating table. But it was warm. I know is was Tuesday because there was a handwritten sign, in English, on the ceiling above me near all the lights that said "Today is Tuesday. Trust us." Then things are blurry, but I have some wispy ideas of...well, sexual experiments. So, diary, with that and losing my job at Safeway, it's been a killer of a week and you're the only one I can really tell.

But hell, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life!

Dear Diary,after a five day jaunt in dear England,my stubble had grown long and itchy.
A month ago I wisely invested in a pack of 10 disposable razors "produced in the U.S.A" for 10Dkr.A veritable scoop it was too.Anyway,this morning I played my newly acquired soundtrack of the original Thomas Crown Affair (on vinyl I hasten to add) while shaving and those cheap razors really DO do the trick.I think I´ll continue to use them as my favoured brand of blade:Gillette II have soared in price to a whopping 72Dkr for 10.
Hope you´ve enjoyed yet another dazzling diary entry from Denmark.

Dear Diary,
maybe I should try yoga. My boss called this morning and I immediately felt tense. I always feel like I am not doing my job right. Which is not true - but he has a way of making me believe it. Oh well, I went swimming after work. Now I feel a lot better! Come to think of it, I don't really like group activities. Maybe no yoga then. I signed up for a 'ki' weekend this coming weekend. Let's see what this is all about.

That's it for today from Germany.

urs, yoga is not really a group activity. In a sense, you are isolated within a group. I place my matt in front. The others are behind me. All I pay attention to is the instructor.

Urs, when you and Big D meet with all of us in Florida, we'll make sure you relax. Rae has already asked me if I do all nighters. I told her that I was up for it if someone promises to wake me up when it's over. I might even have more than two drinks!

Dear, stubbly hebba, don't you just love those disposable American razors?
The original Thomas Crown Affair? Reminds me of the sexiest chess scene in cinematic history.

Blatham, you have out of this world experiences. Do you think they can be trusted? Do you believe?
Leaving the room whistling that jaunty theme from the X-Files.

Dear Diary, We just learned that Craven got a civilian job offer he couldn't refuse as a web designer. He has some pacifist family members that talked him into 'this' job over the military. I was so happy to hear this, that I went out and celebrated. c.i.

Dear Diary,

Sorry dahling, I have been neglecting you ever since I came back from that magical city of Prague. Work has been hectic, and I was also on two weeks vacation during the holiday period. I had decided to spend time by myself during my vacation, so you can understand why I did not come into yr all encompassing arms...

The new year has begun, and now we have to show that all the wonderful plans we made last year can actually be achieved. We almost always tend to brag abt our plans a bit more than necessary, in order to secure our budgets - after all in the big bad world of corporate banking, the size of yr importance is dictated by the size of yr (approved) budget So it has been a bit hectic. And travel looms on the horizon once again - Off to Prague again at the end of this month, then to South Africa in Feb (hopefully will be able to catch a couple of world cup matches) then to Bahrain with a trip to Poland and/or India thrown in between. But the most exciting trip seems to be New York, where I might be going in April - plan to take a week off and shop and meet some people who I always wanted to, but never could. Can u imagine that if NY happens, it will be the first time I will cross the atlantic, even though I have visited 30 odd countries and made 130 odd trips in the past 5 yrs ???

HAd my yearly performance appraisal yesterday, I got a "Full Performer" grade, which means that I fulfill all the criteria of doing my job and often exceeds requirements. This is the second highest grade (out of 5 possible ones) so I guess I am happy. But my boss has told me that this will not neccessarily translate into a pay hike/bonus/stock option as money is very very tight this year (again ??? <sigh>) Damn, since they are predicting that 2003 is going to be the hottest year in 16/17 yrs in London, I was planning to get my house centrally airconditioned (I took a quote, and they said it will cost me $15,000) and I was also looking to change my 3 yr old car. What a bummer - ahh well, another year I guess......But my sweetheart of a boss apologized to me for not challenging me enough during the past year, so that I could show my full potential. He says that it is his personal failing !! What a sweet sweet man !!! I told him that I want to leave the department after a year to do something different (as I get bored easily) and the only thing which I will miss will be him !!

On a more serious note, liking someone who does not like you can be so humiliating and degrading. Isn't it ?

Hugz, and sorry for ignoring you for so long....

Mapleleaf, that sounds more like me. I'll think about it.

Diane, I am so looking forward to that trip.

Dear Diary, nothing really happened today. Got up, went to work, came home. Have some coffee. Will go the gym. A good day!

Dear Diary,

My maternal grandmother passed away today morning. She passed away peacefully in her sleep last night. Did not come as a shock as we were all expecting it to happen very soon, as she had been very poorly for the past few years. My mom had visited her over the New Years, and when she came back she had told me that we should expect the end very soon. She was almost totally bedridden having suffered a paralysis attack some years ago, could not speak, and had to rely on others even for her most basic needs. So in a sense it was a release for her as well.

But then these are just empty words we say to console ourselves, to explain why this has happened, to search for a meaning for events which we know will occur, but we refuse to even think abt it. Having lost my paternal grandmother when I was only 2, she was the only grandmother I knew. Memories of summer holidays spent in her house, with her love and affection continue to haunt me. Her face keeps coming before my eyes, and I am trying very hard not to break into tears (I am at work). When incidents like this happen, it is when you realize the plight of us expats. We are so alone, being so far away from home. Back home, people meet each other, console each other, share the grief, lessening the pain to some extent. Out here, it is just us - alone, to deal with our grief all by ourselves. Makes you question the whole purpose of being in a distant land, away from yr family. She was a such a warm person, so loving, and such a great cook. I still maintain that the best cook I have ever known, even compared to my mother, was my maternal grandmother. She lived like a queen during her times, it was really a pity so see that last years were full of so much pain and helplessness. May her soul rest in peace.

You know last night, I could not sleep properly. I just kept waking up all the time, with a feeling of uneasiness. Now I know why ? Isn't it funny that by some means, you are already informed of the impending bad news ? When my brother called me up, I knew something like this had happened. Every year when I go back to India, I find one person less in my family. Last year claimed my favorite aunt, this year claimed my grandmother.

Sorry, am not much in a mood to write much today....

Gautam, it was good of you to share today. It reminds us that behind the typed words is a human being who really feels the pain and joy of life. Bless

Dear Gautam,

My sympathies to you on the death of your grandmother. Even though something like this might have been "expected" it's still a shock when it happens, isn't it? I'm glad that your your family members are around for support.

All the best to you,
Olga

Gautam,

Grandmothers are such special people. May your happy memories get you through this difficult time.

Dear Diary

Damn! Fungus infection again! I'm bathing, I'm smearing so much goop on my thighs (horrible smell!) that I bet I could run the mile in 4 flat - and no one would hear me coming!

Letter from Aunt Nettie yesterday..great aunt Mary is very ill with the chillblains. Aunt Nettie asked us to pray. We phoned her at supper as we'd been praying for a good twenty minutes and we wanted to find out if Mary was better yet.

I'm happy happy happy! that I don't have to get up tomorrow morning and scrape the ice off my windshield and drive to Safeway (hell hole of the universe!) to soak lettuce. Do customers have ANY notion that half of what they are paying for will evaporate or flood the carpet of their trunk? And I don't have to put up with old man Jameison EVER AGAIN...what an asshole!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow, it's only a day away.

Dear Diary,

Friday! No more work for two days! I still have some time before this 'ki class' starts that I signed up for tonight and tomorrow morning. It's about relaxation techniques I guess - breathing, concentrating, moving. We will see.

My day was pretty good. I was working on our intranet site. Oh, now one of the cats is throwing up. Have to go clean it up. Will be back soon!

Ok, now where was I?

The intranet site. I took over 'internal communications' from a colleague who is on maternity leave. Unfortunately, this was decided two weeks before she left. And then she didn't really feel like showing me a lot of things. So I am learning by doing. I have fun with intranet! Especially when my boss is not in the office and I can quietly work all by myself.

And the weather was great today, lots of sunshine and cold temperatures. I have a pretty view from my office window. And when I look out the office door I can see a castle which looked absolutely lovely today.

DEAR DIARY - TWENTYFOUR7

My pencil's lead is broken
My pen's run out of ink
Spilt coffee on my keyboard
And now my arms are broke

My diary's been abandoned
The pages clean and pure
It's days are empty hours
Everyone the same

Oak, maybe you are trying to read it inside your dog.

Gautam, I just read through the past posts and saw yours on the loss of your grandmother. You have my very real sympathy; remembering how much my grandmother meant to me, I understand how forlorn and empty you can feel when you have to accept that someone you love so deeply is no longer there.

One thing that might be of comfort is that your relationship with her, all the love and memories, will always be there adding a richness to your life for as long as you live.

My grandmother died over forty years ago, yet I still remember her warm lap, comforting words and her endless supply of books which she never tired of reading to me.

Such sweet memories become an almost palpable part of who and what you are, memories you will always cherish.