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When a Neighbour Leaves

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:33:09 +0100

It’s always depressing to lose somebody who is relatively close to you. It doesn’t matter if he’s close emotionally or is just a neighbour – when this person is in your life and you’re comfortable with them, then you feel like something is missing when they leave.

This is the thing I’m going through right now. My neighbour, Brandon, is leaving. He’s changing jobs and his new one is too far away from here to travel so is moving closer in. He doesn’t want to cross the whole city to get to work and I get that. But I really feel that something is changing for the worse and I don’t like it. Brandon and I weren’t very close but he was a good neighbour – quiet, shy and I knew that he was a good guy. I have never had any problems with him and there was nothing wrong with him at all, as far as I could tell. I pride myself as being a good judge of character so I think I wasn’t wrong about him.

The problem with neighbours moving and what is so depressing in this situation is actually the fact that some stranger is going to live next door. He or she might be nice but might not be. It’s a mystery until they move in. You’re comfortable with your current neighbour so you don’t like this change one bit. This is maybe caused by our fear of the unknown but in any case I don’t like the idea of some stranger living right next to me. It makes me uneasy.

Anyway – this cannot be avoided. The best I can hope for is the fact that the new neighbour will be at least as good as Brand. He was keeping to himself. He was an introvert and wasn’t very communicative, even though not all introverts are like that. He didn’t even come and me ask me to help him pack, even though out of all the neighbours I was the only one talked to, I mean saying something more than the occasional “hello”.

He called a cleaning company to deal with the cleaning part. The contract was very strict about the conditions and I guess he didn’t want to take any chances. He used Aceclean, as far as I could see. I took a look at their website. Brand was very strict so if he chose them, there had to be a solid reason for it. It wasn’t like him to take any chances or unnecessary risks. In any case, like I said, I hope the neighbour is at least as good as Brandon, or maybe even better. One can hope, right? Although I am a bit sceptical, to tell you the truth.

An Unfortunate Day

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:05:57 +0100

It was an awful day. I was filled with regret about the fact that I had to go out in such a weather – cold, foggy and lonely. It almost felt as if everybody was kidnapped from the city and I was the only one left. That was rubbish, of course, but – like I said, that’s how it felt. It was annoying that I had to go to work but – duty called, as they say.

I got down the street. As I was crossing over, I was almost hit by a street sweeper – thank goodness those things are slow and noisy so it didn’t happen. I felt it was an omen, though – I had to take the day off and stay home. Sadly, I could not. So I proceeded on the way to work. There were ladders, black cats crossing my way and I saw the number 13 a few times – somebody up there really wanted to warn me about something. I’m superstitious, though, so I didn’t really care about those ‘signs’, some people might call them.

When I got to work, I finally understood the message – the boss was in a bad mood and started criticising my work – from the state of my desk (which was clean, by the way) to my performance evaluation – he wasn’t pleased. I promised him I would put more effort from now on and that I will try to achieve a better level of accomplishing my tasks. That seemed to calm him down (at least for the moment) although I feared it might be the calm before the storm. Luckily, it wasn’t so I got away with it. Wait, that came out wrong – there was nothing to get out with because I am a diligent employee. I had no idea what had gotten over him to say all those awful things but I accepted it and that was it.

When I got home, I was so tired I could barely stand. Not really what I would call a nice or even productive day. What can one do, however? It’s not like we can change things at will. If we could, it would’ve been so awesome. It would be pretty chaotic, though. I guess that’s why we have our laws and those limitations – so people don’t do what they want, otherwise everything would fall into ruin and chaos would break out.

Anyway, it was a pretty unfortunate day and I was glad it was over. I only hope that it wouldn’t repeat again anytime soon. Thank heavens there weren’t any major incidents because such unlucky days usually involve far worse consequences than being reprimanded by your boss. Like I said, I hope no such thing happens any time soon.

The Morning After

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:00:04 +0100

Mondays are bad enough, but when you have to meet the first day of the work week with a hangover, that’s a whole different story right there. Nathan got up and sat on the bed. His head was throbbing so hard he felt it was going to explode. Nasty thing, hangover. He knew he’d be sorry in the morning but he didn’t like thinking that far ahead. He needed a cucumber – he knew he was dehydrated (over a long alcoholic career he had learned a lot about alcohol and its effects). A cucumber would be great because water would make things worse but a cucumber would deliver the so much wanted relief (alongside with the aspirin, of course), without the nasty effects water would have.

He went to the fridge. Bollocks! It was empty. Darn it, his head hurt! He had to take the aspirin and drink water – there was no other way. He would have to deal with the stomach problems later. Besides, it wasn’t like it was needed for him to be on 100% when he was working. After all, he was just a cleaner. He could do his job even if he was sick as a dog.

The two aspirins finally kicked in. His head had almost stopped hurting. He no longer felt that he had cannons in his cranium. Now, it felt like mere bells. He drank a strong coffee without sugar – another great way to fight hangover. He was almost ready for work. The only thing missing was something to eat. His blood sugar was low and caused a huge appetite, even though he wasn’t feeling well. He knew he would probably throw up if he ate, but he didn’t have much choice – he was so hungry.

He went out. The cafe near his home offered sandwiches and other food. He went there to grab a bite. When the waitress brought him his sandwich, he immediately sank his teeth in. The sandwich was tastier than usual – what effects alcohol has, even when one is sober(ish). He enjoyed the food so much, he left a handsome tip (something completely out of character for Nathan as he was a stingy bastard – giving money was his idea of having a bad time, except for giving it for alcohol, which was a whole different story).

He left for work. The others would probably tease him in the office because he looked like a zombie but he didn’t care. All he cared about was getting to work and getting the first call for the day, with the hopes of a nice tip. Whenever there was a chance to get extra pay, Nathan was feeling happy. It was this pleasant sensation of being appreciated. He loved it.

William Harker’s Habits

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:01:45 +0100

‘Drugs will destroy your life, boy.’ That’s what the old history teacher, Mr Taylor had told William Harker when he caught him smoking weed in the backyard of the school. ‘Stop it now, while you’re still young. You have a good head on your shoulders, boy. Don’t let it go to waste.’ But he didn’t listen. ‘What does that old man know?’ That’s what he thought. ‘Weed ain’t even addictive.’ The captain of the rugby team didn’t like anybody telling him what to do or not do. His parents were pretty liberal so the boy grew up in a good environment. ‘Grew up’ is the right term, as he was 1,80, 95 kilos of muscle mass – strong as an ox. He looked a lot like his father – blonde hair, blue eyes, and the same big jaw, giving him even a more intimidating look.

William was right - weed wasn’t addictive. It got him through the last year of high school just fine. He would smoke now and then, once or twice a week (a bit more on holidays) but nothing too excessive. He wasn’t an addict, he just liked it.

When he got to college, he started liking extasy, too. Not long after, he started liking heroin. That’s when he really became dependant on the substances he abused. He dropped out of college. There was no way he could maintain his habits and pay for his education, no matter how much money his parents sent him. Plus, he was always ‘sick’ so there was no way he could take his exams (unless the exam was inserting a needle into a vain – there he was an expert).

Without an education and without a job, he soon found himself into rehab. He was lucky his parents (or rather his mother) loved him enough to do everything in their power and resources to make him better. His mother Margaret– a small brown-eyed brunette, always blamed herself for not seeing the signs. Her eyes were frequently red. Always saying something had gotten in her eye, she never wanted anybody seeing her crying but the poor woman couldn’t hide it very well, either. William’s father – Jason Harker, a coffee shop owner, blamed his son’s friends for what had happened, not knowing that neither of them was responsible. The truth was, it was nobody’s fault – the boy was just curious.

After spending a year and a half (and a lot of money) in rehab, William finally got out, clean. His problems were just beginning, however. He had to deal with his parents’ divorce – they had started arguing progressively more through his rehab and about a year after he was admitted, his father left the house. He left half his small fortune to his wife and the sold the café to go live abroad. He soon remarried, trying to forget what a failure his past life had been. Margaret spent all the money for her son’s rehab. She started working as a house maid in order to support herself as Jason didn’t have any alimonial obligations according to their agreement.

All of this was too much for the young man to endure. Three weeks after he got out of rehab, he was found OD in a back alley – all sixty-five kilos of him. When she got the news, his mother couldn’t handle it and got a heart attack, dying on the way to the hospital. William’s habits had ruined their lives. Mr Taylor was dead-on.

The Magic Of Cleaning My Home - It Changed My Life

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:11:42 +0100

It was a lovely day outside. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and my flat looked like the scene of a horror film. I hadn't cleaned in more than a week because I had been busy with work and when I finally got to it, the situation was so out of control that I could barely look at the place, let alone clean it. Do you have any idea how demotivating it is to start cleaning a dirty flat? You have no idea where to start. It's just awful. You feel like it's going to take forever even if you know it probably won't need more than an hour. I almost fell into despair.

In the end, however, I decided it was time to pull myself together and finally clean (http://www.ehow.com/how_2311664_clean-house.html) my home so that it would look fine in front of guests (which I actually never had before I started cleaning). Anyway,after I collected the waste from every single room,there were no more packages,wrappings or old newspapers.I got rid of them and that meant I was one step closer to succeeding in this important task.However,there were still a lot of other things that needed to be done.So my next move was to tackle the dust problem.I vacuumed each and every piece of furniture-the sofa,the carpets,cushions and stuffed toys as well.It took a while but there was no other way.The thought that I would eventually finish kept me going. Even though I did become tired and sleepy,I didn't allow myself to stop.Not even for a minute.Instead,I changed the bed sheets and put the dirty ones in the washing machine. I'm telling you,if you want to freshen up your room the best way to do that is by putting new sheets on the bed regularly.As well as daily opening of the windows to let in some air.That's exactly what I did.And after closing the windows I sprayed a bit of air freshener(I kind of developed this habit with time).It does a great job.Now I use it mostly after cooking because I wouldn't want the apartament to smell like food.Who would?

Nowadays,my home looks nothing like before.The biggest difference is that I can invite friends now that things are taken care of.I actually have them over frequently.And I have to tell you,every time they come,they are trully amazed.I guess,I'm handling the cleaning pretty well,unlike before.

Some Tricks For Good Mood

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:29:25 +0100

Sometimes when you got up in the morning, you just somehow feel like a downer. So, what should we do to break the misfortune? There are a few tricks to make your waking-up better.

Smile at the sun outside. Well, we all know that London is not exactly the sunniest place on the planet, but whatever – you can still imagine it’s there, right? So, the only thing that is expected of you is to smile back at the sun. This is the easiest way to wake up and start your day with some positive energy running through your veins. You have to know that it is proved that the sunlight reaches your pineal and decreases the amount of melatonin in your organism.

You will soon feel that your body is waking up easier than in some other times. So, don’t thing about it, make some coffee and smile at the sun. That will surely make your day better.

Communicate with the nature. Do you know that people, who have spent at least 20 minutes at fresh air, feel at least 20% more capable of doing their job through the day? That makes the park a nice place to go there and have a walk. Well, if you don’t have enough time, even a ten-minute walk will cheer you up more than you have ever expected.

Meditate. It is completely enough to meditate for about fifteen minutes a day to make your brain wake up and work on full speed. But remember to keep your eyes shut when you have your séance and stay at one place to increase the amount of blood going to your brain.

When Did We Start Living By Habit?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:32:11 +0100

Since the elementary school we are taught that people are the perfect animals. First we think, calculate things, then rethink, and lastly we do. We invent things, destroy them, and then build something again, but no matter how hard we try, we can’t really fly like the birds. Yes, the birds, those simple animals. We won’t ever let our dreams dictate anything at all, because we try to be realists. I because of the fact we are such, we watch as our lives are slowly fading away.

The more we try to become some kind of superhuman beings, the more inhumane we become. We may have complex machines and major buildings, but we don’t have any dreams, because we have run them into a program a long time ago. Our mind is busy only with the electricity bills, with the decoration of our home, with our children’s education and with the food we have to buy for the dog. And that’s that.

Well, I have a news for you. This is not a life but a track from which there is no exit.

I have always been condemned for the fact that I don’t follow the herd. I am not getting married; I have always wanted a job, which most of the people won’t choose ever; I don’t make home-cooked meals just because I have to. Well, my friends, I am not a rebel, I am not a hater, and I am not an emancipated, self-absorbed and lonely spinster. I am what I am, I have my own track, but I also like exploring some new territories. And because I prefer being happy instead of being always right.

I don’t give a toss if people think I am crazy when trying to fly along with the birds. This makes me smile, even if it doesn’t exactly go in the “have to” codex of life. And after all, who is the one determining what has to be and has not to be done? God? Sorry, guys, but I don’t believe in the church as an institution. The conventional ways? Let them go to hell. I am a human being, not a herd animal.

And until the moment when someone will try to milk me, and I will dream and I will go running with handfuls of life. Because in my life, that’s the way it is – my heart rules my minds, and not the opposite.

Let's Be Positive About Life

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:50:25 +0100

In a certain part of their life every one of us has heard the expression “cheer up”. But there are very few people who can actually be positive no matter what. Psychologists, on the other hand, strongly recommend facing our life with a smile and being more positive in order to live better. At first sight it doesn’t look so easy, but the good news is that everybody can do it. It only takes some efforts.

What is the best way to entice the success and make it a permanent part of our life? Well, it turns out that living with positive point of view is the key. And the worse the world goes on, the greater is the necessity of finding the best parts of everything that surrounds us. That is how we seriously increase our chances to choose the right path despite all the misfortunes that we meet.

I think that the right approach is to be optimists as well as realists. That means that optimism what we wake up every morning with, has to be at least a bit realistic. The kind of optimism that deserves to be a part of our lives is the one that helps us look back into ourselves and choose the realistic way to see things.

So, what is the decision then? Expect only the best and never say “that’ll not gonna happen to me, right”. It is important to choose your perspectives that stimulate you to go forward and never look back. Of course, don’t forget the worst case scenario, either.

We have to learn to appreciate even the smallest thing in our life. We should look around smiling and be kind of ourselves. That is the kind of thinking and behavior that specialists suggest. It is of grave importance to like and appreciate ourselves because that is the way to live a happier life. Accept your weaknesses, because no one is perfect.

So, embrace the kind of person who you are, learn to note your progress, accept your mistakes and failures without any drama and remember that nothing’s lost and nothing should happen immediately. That is the key to be happy not only with your life, but also with yourself. Enjoy!

Big Expectations. Are They?

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 06:04:46 +0100

Last week I told you about the non-cleaned ballet studio I practice in. Well, this week this problem is not in the agenda anymore. But even that this week the place is being cleaned, the things are getting even more serious.

After last week I spoke with our director and told him that the managers of the cleaning company we work in the ballet studio haven’t sent anyone to wash the floor and sanitize the building, he obviously took some measures and vitiated the contract with them. From this Monday we work with a different cleaning company but what my astonishment was when I got to the ballet studio and found even a bigger mess than it was before the so called professionals started doing the job.

At first I thought it is only in my imagination when I came into the locker room and I sensed the sharp, acute smell of some kind of a cleaning detergent. I can’t really determine what kind of smell it was but it was really intrusive, something like bleach plus borax plus a whole bunch of other stuff. Only that it wasn’t in my head. The whole place was stinking like the hell itself.

I managed to change my clothes somehow and I entered the ballet studio only to find the cleaner in there. He wasn’t doing anything special, and the floor was so smudged that I can’t really tell what he has been doing. I haven’t seen anything like that in my whole life. After all, these people make their living by cleaning somebody’s homes, corporate buildings, and offices. I can’t imagine who will pay someone who doesn’t do their work properly. I understand that commercial cleaning isn’t easy and you must follow instructions and comply with different requirements and this just is not a job for random people.

As a ballet dancer I can’t put up with the studio’s dirty floor. I thought that last week we put an end of the careless cleaners work here, but as I see now, it’s nothing like any of the things I expected. Maybe I will talk again with our director, because hiring the wrong clearing companies won’t provide the clean, safe and healthy environment we need.

Summer Events In Kensington Palace – Volume 1

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:54:54 +0100

Except for the fact that this summer London will be one of the most crowded towns worldwide, because of the 2012 Summer Olympics, most of you probably don’t know that many of the London area offer some event sessions of leisure and learning activities. For example, I learned that this year there are some interesting events in the Kensington Palace in South Kensington and I went there to book myself to some of them.

Let me give you some information about the Kensington Palace. It is a working Royal residence of great national and historical importance. Most of the Londoners may also know that Kensington Palace is the place where Queen Victoria was born and where she spent most of her childhood. Nowadays the Palace is turned into accommodation to some offices and private apartments of some of the members of the Royal Family. It is also the home of William (who is second in the line of succession) and Katherine – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

So, I decided to take part into the Summer School for adults in the Kensington Palace and I even went to book myself into the “Her Majesty, Mrs Brown” event, which will take place on the 20^th of June (that is the next Wednesday) from 18:15 – 20:30. The writer and historian Alex von Tunzelmann will participate in the beginning and in the end of the event.
I hope it will be useful and interesting and I will keep you informed about what is happening at these events and how do I find the whole organization and the information that is provided.