I boredly clicked on my blogger.com profile. Narcissistic? Maybe. I occasionally Google myself too, just to see what comes up.
I was born in the year of the tiger. I think that's cool. If someone told me all the possibilities of animal names of years for the Chinese year thing and I had to choose one, I would definitely choose tiger. The years are Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Cat Dragon Snake Horse Ram Monkey Rooster Dog and Boar. If I were born in the year of the rat, I probably wouldn't be writing anything about it. Tigers are cool though. Dragons are a nice second choice.
I really don't believe this stuff though. I just found out my tiger horoscope for today:
Your spouse will have much to do to endure your changes of mood. Take good care of your feet. At work, you'll be more realistic, more careful and pragmatic than ever. In family, you'll be surrounded with warm affection; you will achieve an understanding of rare perfection. Know that you're a unique being -- you don't have to act like everybody else.
1. I don't have a spouse, so yeah, no.
2. Take good care of your feet... ummmm ok. Random.
3. At work... ha! I have been unemployed for ages. In fact, maybe the take good care of your feet comment has something to do with the fact that I've been pounding pavement for months job-hunting....
4. Hmmm family, warm affection, rare perfection. Well that's nice. I love my family. I'm helping my mom with some cards, so maybe we will accomplish rare perfection...
5. Unique being... Dude... I know that already!
So all in all this daily horoscope thing is mostly wrong. I could be a daily horoscope writer. It must be fun to make this stuff up. Almost like writing the copy for the back of product labels. You can pretty much say anything you want.
This is my overview for the upcoming year of the rooster starting february 9th:
Eager for action, the Tiger may instead be surrounded by harmony. In order to turn their energy into useful channels, they must join cultural clubs or participate in different debates and seminars. If an occasion presents itself, they will have an interest in discovering new countries, civilizations and peoples still unknown to them. Their trips will stimulate their thinking and help them acquire wisdom.
The character summary for tiger people is kind of interesting too.... I read it here. Read yours if you want... If you're bored.
(for entertainment purposes only. InsideKrisiasHead cannot be held responsible for anything resulting from any adviced followed as a result of reading this blog or reading anything on the links from this blog, or the links from those links. In fact, InsideKrisiasHead is totally irresponsible. I'm just bored and writing stupid garbage. If you really want something to do, read Violetta's blog, or look at Ryan's pictures. Now go, get a life.)
Friday, January 28, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Reading blogs
It's time.
I like reading blogs. But not just any blogs. My friends' blogs. I
posted a link to Mara's blog a few months back and I mentioned Vi's
Blog but didn't link to it.
Sometimes there are artists... musicians, painters, writers, whatever,
who don't realsie what they can do. Sometimes they have an inkling
that their stuff is good but they don't really believe you when you
rave about it. This is Vi.
When I read her blog, instead of just reading about her life or where
she is or what she's doing, I feel like I'm seeing it with her eyes,
I'm really inside her head. She doesn't just see things and then
describe them, she lets them affect her first, and then shares the
feeling with you. I LOVE her blog. But not as much as I love her.
Talking to Vi is like becoming a part of a magical world, where things
are so much more than what they look like, like looking at them
through a mushroom-shaped kaleidoscope, where a poster of a meerkat is
worthy of a quick stop of the car, where smiles are brought on by a
pedestrian curtsying to the driveer that stopped for her, where
backgammon is played with tiny silver dice on a tiny silver board in a
tiny cafe....
I can't describe Vi's writing. I don't have that ability to make
mental pictures move like she does. But I can send you to her. Drop in
and pay her a visit, and please tell her what you think. Let her know
when she makes you smile and laugh out loud.....
http://ThreeLeggeDuck.blogspot.com
I like reading blogs. But not just any blogs. My friends' blogs. I
posted a link to Mara's blog a few months back and I mentioned Vi's
Blog but didn't link to it.
Sometimes there are artists... musicians, painters, writers, whatever,
who don't realsie what they can do. Sometimes they have an inkling
that their stuff is good but they don't really believe you when you
rave about it. This is Vi.
When I read her blog, instead of just reading about her life or where
she is or what she's doing, I feel like I'm seeing it with her eyes,
I'm really inside her head. She doesn't just see things and then
describe them, she lets them affect her first, and then shares the
feeling with you. I LOVE her blog. But not as much as I love her.
Talking to Vi is like becoming a part of a magical world, where things
are so much more than what they look like, like looking at them
through a mushroom-shaped kaleidoscope, where a poster of a meerkat is
worthy of a quick stop of the car, where smiles are brought on by a
pedestrian curtsying to the driveer that stopped for her, where
backgammon is played with tiny silver dice on a tiny silver board in a
tiny cafe....
I can't describe Vi's writing. I don't have that ability to make
mental pictures move like she does. But I can send you to her. Drop in
and pay her a visit, and please tell her what you think. Let her know
when she makes you smile and laugh out loud.....
http://ThreeLeggeDuck.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Snow Day!!!
What does it take to get a snow day? When I was living in Montreal, I distinctly remember more than once waking up to a half metre of snow on the ground (that would be almost 2 feet for you non-metrics), and everyone just took it in stride, life as usual. This morning I woke up to snow. I can't say how much in feet or metres, or even centimetres or inches, because really, there wasn't enough to actually measure depth. It only had 2 dimensions! It was enough to cover flat pieces of ground, but that's about it. Everyone was excited though. Keivan, who is 16, was the most excited. He didn't have school. They had a snow day. Two millimetres of snow (in the drifts) and it's a snow day. Geesh! The reason is that we are up on top of a mountain (more like a big hill, but a mountain in the north of spain sounds so much cooler). In fact the whole of Bilbao is surrounded by these mountains. It snowed on all of them last night, but as you go down towards the city it's just rain. Anyway, the reason is that the schoolbuses are afraid that with more snow in the forecast, they may not be able to get back down the hill in the afternoon to take kids home. What was funny to me was that Keivan was like "School is closed. the buses can't come!" and then ran out to take a bus to Bilbao to meet his friends. Does no one else see the irony?
Anyway, I meant to take a picture of the snow but it melted by 11.
The day's weather was a varying mixture of snow, rain, sleet and hail... The hail would cover the ground, then the rain would wash it away into clumpy puddles. Then the rain would turn into sleet and everything was slushy, then snow again... quite bizarre actually. Now there's thunder and lightning but no precipitation of any kind.
And there's the weather report for Bilbao.
I am going to go now because I am in the middle of a surreal msn chat....
Anyway, I meant to take a picture of the snow but it melted by 11.
The day's weather was a varying mixture of snow, rain, sleet and hail... The hail would cover the ground, then the rain would wash it away into clumpy puddles. Then the rain would turn into sleet and everything was slushy, then snow again... quite bizarre actually. Now there's thunder and lightning but no precipitation of any kind.
And there's the weather report for Bilbao.
I am going to go now because I am in the middle of a surreal msn chat....
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Sometimes the elevator doesn't go all the way to the top...
For the past few months I have been here in Spain looking for a job.
I'm trying to work in the restaurant sector in preparation for my
cafe. It's been difficult going, and I gave myself until the beginning
of January before starting to look at my other options.
Enter other options.
A couple of weeks ago a Bahá'à in my community asked me to give her
English classes. I told her that I am not an English teacher and have
absolutely no experience teaching English. She said that she didn't
care and she wanted the classes anyway. She wants to learn English,
and she also wants to be able to read the Bahá'à Writings in English.
Now this is a tall order, considering sometimes the Writings are tough
reading for native English speakers. Anyway she talked me into it,
mostly with the naming of a price that she was willing to pay me if I
gave it a try, and so I did. Two lessons later, we're both happy with
the start we've made, and she wants to refer me to other people to
teach English. However, each class is a lot of work for me, in terms
of preparation, and I realise that I have a lot to learn about English
grammar... "because it sounds right" hardly works as an explanation
for why something is said this way and not that. A couple of months
ago, I had called around to a few places that were advirtising for a
native English speaker to teach English. The pay was good, the hours
were good, but when I called they wouldn't give me the time of day
because I had no certification. So last week I filled out an
application form for the CELTA course at International House in
Barcelona. They called me for an interview and have since sent me an
invitation to join the course starting February 21.
So here goes. After an intensive month of training I'll be qualified
to teach English as a Foreign Language. I chose a certification that
is internationally recognised. There are a lot of them that are only
valid if you work for a certain company or chain of language schools,
and a couple that are universally recognised.
It's kinda weird though. I had considered the idea of getting this
qualification before I came to Spain, as an option. I was going to do
one of the online courses, until I found out that that isn't enough to
qualify you as an English teacher. For months I've been battling with
this because it feels a little like I failed to do what I wanted to do
and this is plan B. However, I realise that it's more of a failure to
be here unemployed, and here is something that I can do and be good
at, and there are a lot of opportunities in Bilbao and all over Spain
for that matter.
I have fallen in love with Bilbao. I really want to stay here. I love
the city and the energy of it. I've been getting more and more invlved
in the Bahá'à community here and I feel like I can do something, I've
started a couple of study circles and I really want to see them
through. Also Sheida wants to become a tutor and wants to take
advantage of the fact that I'm here and available, and can do the
sequence of courses with her. For me, it's a big help because I can do
them in Spanish and she can help me, so we're really learning
together.
Next week I'm going to go and visit the language schools here and see
if I can secure a job before I go, or at least make an inroads.
The pre-course task is about 20 hours of work and it looks tough. It
gives me some indication of what the course itself will be like. The
lady who interviewed me, Vicky, explained that the vast majority of
the students pass because their entry requirements are pretty
exacting. That way, they can be sure that the people who are doing the
course are capable of doing well.
Anyway, the reason for the title of this blog entry is because the
first day I went to Carmen's house to give her her English class, I
was told that she lived on the 6th floor. I got in the elevator, and
pressed 5, which was as high as it went. I thought that maybe it was
the 6th floor if you count the ground floor as 1, or something like
that. So I get off the elevator and there are 3 doors. Now I know she
is supposed to be at 6th floor derecha, so I look at the door on the
left (which is on the right as you come up the stairs, which I've
figured out, is the way they do it) and it says 5 derecha. So then I'm
thinking, hmmmmmm I took the elevator to the top, but here I am on the
5th floor.... I head for the stairwell, and sure enough there's
another flight up! I go up, and there it is 6th right.... The elevator
didn't go all the way to the top! I thought that was just an
expression! Of course it's no reflection on Carmen or anyone who lives
on the 6th floor... it's the penthouse....
I'm trying to work in the restaurant sector in preparation for my
cafe. It's been difficult going, and I gave myself until the beginning
of January before starting to look at my other options.
Enter other options.
A couple of weeks ago a Bahá'à in my community asked me to give her
English classes. I told her that I am not an English teacher and have
absolutely no experience teaching English. She said that she didn't
care and she wanted the classes anyway. She wants to learn English,
and she also wants to be able to read the Bahá'à Writings in English.
Now this is a tall order, considering sometimes the Writings are tough
reading for native English speakers. Anyway she talked me into it,
mostly with the naming of a price that she was willing to pay me if I
gave it a try, and so I did. Two lessons later, we're both happy with
the start we've made, and she wants to refer me to other people to
teach English. However, each class is a lot of work for me, in terms
of preparation, and I realise that I have a lot to learn about English
grammar... "because it sounds right" hardly works as an explanation
for why something is said this way and not that. A couple of months
ago, I had called around to a few places that were advirtising for a
native English speaker to teach English. The pay was good, the hours
were good, but when I called they wouldn't give me the time of day
because I had no certification. So last week I filled out an
application form for the CELTA course at International House in
Barcelona. They called me for an interview and have since sent me an
invitation to join the course starting February 21.
So here goes. After an intensive month of training I'll be qualified
to teach English as a Foreign Language. I chose a certification that
is internationally recognised. There are a lot of them that are only
valid if you work for a certain company or chain of language schools,
and a couple that are universally recognised.
It's kinda weird though. I had considered the idea of getting this
qualification before I came to Spain, as an option. I was going to do
one of the online courses, until I found out that that isn't enough to
qualify you as an English teacher. For months I've been battling with
this because it feels a little like I failed to do what I wanted to do
and this is plan B. However, I realise that it's more of a failure to
be here unemployed, and here is something that I can do and be good
at, and there are a lot of opportunities in Bilbao and all over Spain
for that matter.
I have fallen in love with Bilbao. I really want to stay here. I love
the city and the energy of it. I've been getting more and more invlved
in the Bahá'à community here and I feel like I can do something, I've
started a couple of study circles and I really want to see them
through. Also Sheida wants to become a tutor and wants to take
advantage of the fact that I'm here and available, and can do the
sequence of courses with her. For me, it's a big help because I can do
them in Spanish and she can help me, so we're really learning
together.
Next week I'm going to go and visit the language schools here and see
if I can secure a job before I go, or at least make an inroads.
The pre-course task is about 20 hours of work and it looks tough. It
gives me some indication of what the course itself will be like. The
lady who interviewed me, Vicky, explained that the vast majority of
the students pass because their entry requirements are pretty
exacting. That way, they can be sure that the people who are doing the
course are capable of doing well.
Anyway, the reason for the title of this blog entry is because the
first day I went to Carmen's house to give her her English class, I
was told that she lived on the 6th floor. I got in the elevator, and
pressed 5, which was as high as it went. I thought that maybe it was
the 6th floor if you count the ground floor as 1, or something like
that. So I get off the elevator and there are 3 doors. Now I know she
is supposed to be at 6th floor derecha, so I look at the door on the
left (which is on the right as you come up the stairs, which I've
figured out, is the way they do it) and it says 5 derecha. So then I'm
thinking, hmmmmmm I took the elevator to the top, but here I am on the
5th floor.... I head for the stairwell, and sure enough there's
another flight up! I go up, and there it is 6th right.... The elevator
didn't go all the way to the top! I thought that was just an
expression! Of course it's no reflection on Carmen or anyone who lives
on the 6th floor... it's the penthouse....
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Truffles in Czech
Neisan just got back from a multileg journey that took him to Czech Republic and all over Spain. While he was in Czech Republic he met up with some friends of mine. I sent some truffles that I made for Sebastien and they took a series of pictures of him receiving the truffles, sharing the truffles, other people eating the truffles, but none of Sebastien actually eating them, which leads me to believe he didn't actually eat them... However, he also got Neisan to pose for some shots to match the ones we took in Lliria in August last year.
It's kinda funny, especially since Neisan wasn't in Lliria last August and had absolutely no idea what these crazy poses were all about. Thanks, Neisan for being a great sport, and thanks, Sebastien for all the memories revisited. All those pictures from Neisan are here.
There were also a number of ex-BWC staff, all of whose names I don't remember so instead of showing who I don't remember, won't name any of them. Also a couple of other friends, such as Jason Ighani and Shamim, and some random other people I met in Europe this summer. Enjoy the photos!
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Guggenheim... again!
So they've put this booth in front of the Guggenheim, near the cubes,next to the river. It has a little camera and you stick a 1 euro coin in it and it makes you a 15 second video and e-mails you a link to it to share with your friends. I no longer have any idea who is reading this blog, so I don't know if you are my friend or not, but if you are, and would like to see a bad-quality, 15 second video of me with Nasim and Leila in front of the Guggenheim yesterday before I took them into the cubes, then click here. It was fun,and a cool idea.It was kind of funny to get an e-mail starting with "Hello krisia haynes, I am Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and I have a video of you...." Kinda scary actually.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Winter School in Lliria
I've just spent a few days in Lliria at Winter school. Here are some pictures that I took before my camera battery died.
Once again I was the vegetarian cook. The vegetarians loved the food, and so did the carnivores who got to try it. At the beginning of the school there were 3 vegetarians registered. By the 3rd day, we had a big problem, as there were 21 people claiming to be vegetarians! In Spain! Go figure! So for the next school we're going to have to be more strict about preregistration of meal choice. We had only prepared for about 10. I was actually asked to prepare the food for the whole school next time, which means about 150 people. I think I am going to have to say no to that. It's one thing preparing meals for 10 to 30 people.... 150 people, 2 meals a day for a week (breakfast is continental buffet)? I think not.
Anyway, back to the Winter school. It started last Wednesday, I got there on Monday. We did some shopping, hung out and prepared. At sometime in those initial days of preparation, we got word that Mr. Dunbar, a member of the Universal House of Justice, was coming on Friday and Saturday. I was ecstatic. When I was in Haifa, Mr. Dunbar used to(and still does, and has for years) give a class for the youth every Thursday. Topics varied from studies of different Writings of Shoghi Effendi, including the Foreword to God Passes By, the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, and others, to personal stories of his travels and adventures, to question and answer sessions, and pretty much everything. I always felt that during his classes he was answering questions I had, without me even having to ask them!
During this Winter school, because I was cooking, I couldn't attend the sessions, but I did attend all of Mr. Dunbar's talks. Again, I felt like he was addressing things I was wondering about. The other cool thing was that it was in Spanish and I was able to understand every word.
Mr. Dunbar's class is one of the things I really miss about Haifa, and it was wonderful to have a taste of it again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)