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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Under pressure

PS at the end;-)

Normally I ´m a very patient person. Ok, I try to be one most of the time;-)
But this weekend? I have been fighting against my impatience since Friday. I´m not quite sure if I ´ll be the winner of this challenge.
To explain the reason- I set myself deadlines for my writings. And this Sunday ends my deadline for a piece of writing. OMG! Why do I put myself under pressure? There really is no need for that. Well, I have to be ready in 1 month but there are 3 other assignments I have to do as well. Therefore the deadline and the pressure. I´m just explaining it, convincing myself that this weekend has to be the way it is.
I´m used to work under pressure-although I don´t like it. I am a NANOWRIMO-winner, so what!?!
Working on this piece of writing now reminds me of my problems I had at the end of my MS. I couldn´t find an end. Each time I try to finish the draft now I don´t write the conclusion, no! I just revise the rest of the piece!!!! Again and again. So it´s getting longer and longer, I add statistics instead of coming to an end. Help! Why am I doing this?! ....or I blog something....

But I´m feeling better now:-) lol. Writing (in this case blogging) relieves!

So now I´ll finish my draft, bake another cake (´cause I nearly ate the whole I baked yesterday- out of anger;-) then I´ll visit my family and tell them about my success. My success in finishing my writing. (Hopefully!!)

So let´s do it- now. Ciao! (hey , I´m rhyming:-)

------------------------------------------------
PS: I´m done!!! Have to applaud myself;-)))))))))))))))))))))))

Saturday, May 29, 2010

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http://j-gonzalez.blogspot.com/--> gorgeous photos!


http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/2010/05/serenity.html--> daily poems, cool parodies, comic rhymes, children's poems and 'serious stuff'. Really funny!

Visited The Ineluctable Bookshelf today and admired the graphics. The black-and-white picture there reminded me of a friend´s artwork in a way. (Yeah, it´s black and white, too;-) I know!)
--> great collection of books (different genres) , author profiles, short book-introductions help you to ´get a sense of what a book is about´.

So enjoy a colorful weekend ! Here the artwork from my little goddaughter;-)

Friday, May 28, 2010

Impressionism from Tahiti

Music-corner
In order to get attuned -
some Tahitian music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iPPG1hFDZg

Was asked to paint something- so I tried to replicate Paul Gauguin´s Tahitian Landscape. Did the same with Monet´s Waterlilies - impressionism is great. Great to admire but so difficult to replicate. But it´s fun as well and another challenge.


Here the original painting- http://www.brown.edu/Courses/CG11/2005/Group149/gauguintahitianlandscape1891.jpg

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Dark, darker,....

Thunderstorm, hail, floodings, tornado!!! Yes, really, there are tornados outside the USA- even in Austria. I haven´t heard about this before. And today it took me more than 40 minutes to drive about 10 miles. Floodings everywhere. Sometimes I had to stop driving because I couldn´t see the street any longer. It was horrible.

But it´s the best weather for working inside;-) I try to revise my MS without much success. Everything is so obvious. Nearly no surprises. I think I have to add much more than I have ever thought of. Well, that´s life. Full of... - what? Surprises? Ok. Unwanted or wanted. Have to deal with them. Or even better, have to learn how to deal best--during a car-ride through the floodings and during revising my draft.

Something else- I got another book for my course, so I get everything little by little. I was told that the last one should cross the big ocean in about 2 weeks. Well, what should I do? Have to wait and drink some tea. Fits to the weather.It´s so cold outside!!!

Quote-corner:
Maybe we can laugh together;-) even if it´s gallows´ humor.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”

John Ruskin

Have to keep that in mind!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Short holidays

View from the balcony in Semmering, Austria.

Spent the last days in Vienna and Styria. It was great, I finally saw sun between some showers
;-) Will post some pictures in my photo-corner the following days. Have fun and enjoy the trip there as much as I did. Hope you all are fine - with or without holidays!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

No pleasure without herbs

The Middle Ages- an interesting period of time. Interesting to read about, admire book-paintings!, visit castles, listen to music and so on.

But I´m glad about living nowadays. No danger of being burnt as an "herbal-witch";-) I have a passion for herbs. And fortunately my parents have a herbalgarden full of my favorite plants- chives, lemon balm, pepermint, many more and of course parsley!! I love it- just cook some potatoes with parsley and I need nothing else - it´s great! (But I wouldn´t refuse some other vegetables, a good fish or a piece of meat :-) Yummy- I´m hungry now.


Have to work on one assignment today -not an easy job. But my deadline is the end of May and so I have to do something today. The next 3 days are holidays where I have some appointments and no time for writing. But today is the first day without rain, storm and a little bit of sun......it´s hard to stay inside.

Just want to post this nice piece of Art, enjoy it and then go back to work. Happy weekend!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The picture tells everything..............

No, it isn´t the Ash-cloud- but it could be... again airport-closures....it´s today´s sky, could be yesterday´s , too. Or it could be taken the day before yesterday, before yesterday,............
Music-corner:

Here´s the best song for this weather-
and after several weeks I can´t stand it any longer!
Tina Turner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXUzeNuc36M&feature=related
Simply the best!

Other interpretations through the centuries---
Missy Eliot´s Hip-Hop-Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47HCjB3Plc&feature=related
Stay at home- it´s drier;-)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Harley Days

Today I met a friend ; it was a special day. We didn´t know that it was the last of 3 Harley Days in Vienna. When we left the building the Harley Parade had just started. I don´t know how many bikes I saw, but I think about 1000 .We ( and all the bikers) had luck with the weather- an hour without rain! Great!!!
I forgot my camera at home, took some photos with the cellphone, but they aren´t good ones. So I just copied this Harley-picture from http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/2010_Motorcycles/bike/wide_glide.html

I love these bikes, just because of the shape, the colors and chrome. Today I sat for the very first time in my life on such a bike! Very comfortable;-)
I don´t have a driving license for motorbikes, I wouldn´t buy one but it was nice to watch the parade and look at the different designs.
My highlight on a rainy day.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Delition-week

What the hell have I done!?! Just deleted my flag-counter while I was updating my blog! Wanted to delete something else...
About 250 Austrians, 55 Americans, 4 Swedes, 2 Japanese and the other 4 different countries I don´t remember... all my visitors are gone:-((( (and I liked to watch my flag-counter grow, can start again.) Damn! (Shouldn´t use such a word in my blog- but believe me, I want to use other ones...)

I´m too unconcentrated this week, too much going on. I also deleted something from another site, so take care, I can delete everything ......
But I try to see it positivly-have an unwanted draft? Don´t worry-I can help you to delete every single page :-/ and I didn´t delete my assignments and some feedback I wrote. Wow, success!!

I really need holidays and fortunatelly I´ll have the next 3 days off. Hope that helps and avoids the next delitions. ( How often did I use this word? Have to ----------- it when I use it the next time:-) See, it works, you won´t get annoyed reading about ---------- any longer. But it´s boring, too.
Think it´s time to go back to work- and I won´t have to use the computer.
So no chance for ------------ !!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Love or hate it

I just baked mum´s cake for tomorrow, thought of Mother´s Day and one song came in my mind- although it has nothing to do with it--MAMMA MIA!

Yes, me too. I must confess that I love this musical and ABBA´s songs. I really love it, have seen it many times, ... Well, sometimes I need this kind of music as well. I know it´s light music- but music. And after listening to the CD or watching the movie (which is fun) you´ll be in a better mood, believe me;-)
And I´m in a better mood, because after today´s ABBA session I´ll drive to a completely different one in an Australian pub. No, wrong , it´s not Outback music.
We´ll hear Rock- Pop- Country- Soul, crazy mixture. I´m looking forward to it.
...and due to the ***weather here, my friends cancelled the BBQ, but the good thing was so I got enough time to finish some of my work. Whoopeeeeeeeee!!!
Time to go out;-)

oh, nearly forgot about my music-corner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPEH0a_ca5w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKC4tWmw2d0&feature=related

...you´ll love or hate it;-) I had my coming-out;-) I ´m a fan of that musical...oh, come on, that´s not so bad, there is worse music out there!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bad habit - good news

Well , I did it again.
I know it´s not ok, so what...
You want to know what I did- although I better should have avoided it?
Even if you don´t want, I´ll tell you. No mercy today!
Just one way to escape that horror- skip to another blog;-)
take this one http://martillusions.blogspot.com/ - not many stupid words in there;-), just photos.

Ok, I don´t want to rack you any longer. Don´t be disappointed, it´s not that bad.
I just want to create some tension:-) (Practice for my revisions)
(Oh, Goodness, what a strange introduction! ;-)))))

Ok, back to real life now.
I did it again- I know you´ve read it before. But I have to repeat that sentence some more times to be sure to get the meaning...
To make my long story short-
I have to spend my time in a more useful way, have to organize it more... I know that....but when I have too much to do sometimes I tend to do just the things I like (like writing a post) - not the ones I have to do....bad habit. It´s annoying!
And to sheer away from unwanted stuff I begin with something else,... So, after a while I have to finish more things than I ´ve thought of. I have to learn to do unwanted stuff first- that´s not motivating, I know. But I don´t have another solution at the moment.

I knew these next days´d be a challenge- at work and at home. But knowing something and experiencing is something different. But I have to focus on thinking positively;-)
Well, the indoor-BBQ´s ( because of the rain) are all nice, I look forward to meeting my family and friends, I´ll finish another assignment out of now 7 (hopefully) this weekend, apropos finishing- have to bake a cake for mum (yeah, it´s mother´s day, too;-) and that´s a thing I love to do) and clean the flat, and and and and...the list won´t stop, so I ´d better finish writing, but it´s soooo relaxing.

Nearly forgot about the good new. You won´t believe it - maybe you will but not me. I ´ve just received a mail and
.
.
.
.

1 !!!!!! (Have to write it again : 1!!) book for the next block will be delivered on my b-day- what a present!;-))) just missing two others, but I´ll pick up "Envelopes" as well.

So, I try to follow my mind and finish at least 2 other things today (Help, the day is nearly over! But to keep the positive thoughts in mind- there will be the whole night! ;-)))))) what a great joke, have to practice more on that....

So, try to use time effectively, do one thing after the other- even unwanted stuff- because you´ll have to do it anyway. Enough advices for myself - I try to follow them now;-)
so have a good one!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Hungry?

If you´re looking for a vegetarian quick dish, cook Potato Goulash- it´s very easy to cook and tastes good. And another advantage- you can do other things while cooking-like writing a blog-post.
Bon appetit! No, it´s an Austrian dish- so "Mahlzeit"!

Recipy taken from http://www.virtualvienna.net/main/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=322


Erdäpfelgulasch - Potato Goulash
2 oz. vegetable oil
2 oz. diced bacon (You don´t need)
10 oz. finely chopped onions
2 lbs. peeled potatoe cubes (Just cut them into quaters)
1 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika (My family just takes the hot one, which isn´t so hot in my
opinion)
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground caraway
1 teaspoon majoram
1 tbsp. vinegar ( It isn´t necessary)
1 bay leaf (If you want;-))
salt and pepper

Fry diced bacon, add chopped onions, fry until golden brown, add spices, vinegar, salt and potato cubes.

Fill with water so that the potatoes are completely covered, and simmer slowly until they are done.

And now--enjoy!

Music-corner:
And if you want music now-check this out--> running down a dream-->
http://www.myspace.com/bigsouth66

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Botanical Garden

Dark clouds,as I looked out of my appartment this morning. I planned to go to Vienna to meet a friend and wasn´t pleased of the weather. But I took my umbrella, the train as well;-) and an hour later we met at the train station. After lunch we went to the botanical garden there- just beautiful!


But I needed over 30 years to visit that place in spring;-)!

But it really was worth a visit. I took over 150 photos- it´s crazy, but I couldn´t resist.
So, if you want to visit the garden just follow the picture below.
And I also saw something special in town- curious? Check it out:-)


BTW- it didn´t rain the whole afternoon!! It´s always the same. Whenever I take an umbrella with me, you can be sure, it won´t rain....;-)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

BBQ-time

Spring- music is in the air, birds are singing,...honestly not today, it´s raining. But it doesn´t matter, I´m enjoying a nice weekend. Maybe more than usually, because the next couple of days are full of appointments and celebrations. And full means really full, not just one meeting a day!Too much for me at once.
I like to meet people but always at the beginning of May all of my friends invite at once. I can understand, it´s warm outside, mostly, they woke up after a long winter´s nap, realize it´s spring, time for BBQs. OK. Maybe they should talk about their plans to avoid clash of appointments. And then some family celebrations, well, I love meeting them, spending time together. I love to celebrate others;-) The whole week will be just working and eating, eating and talking, talking - and having fun.
After that extensive parties and BBQs I hope it´ll be good weather for inline-skating. I´ll have to spend some hours in the inline-skates;-)
So enjoy your weekends, your BBQs and nice conversations!


Music-corner:

It´s not really party-music but relaxing . It must be spring that influences me- or my home-country;-)
Strauß- "Voice of Spring- Waltz"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9cscbiAjuc

I know, it isn´t summer-but get a taste of it;-)
David Garrett- Summertime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9mpuW3qR0&feature=related

One of my favorite operas -Bizet´s Carmen- played and adapted by David Garrett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiAca57Hhbo&feature=related