Pond Hopper

I just saw an advert for a theme park they have out here and was reminded of the following story - Have you ever had one of these sort of days?... I once had a guy dump me on a roller coaster. I didn't see it coming - everything was fine all day and I thought we were having a great time together and then, while going up to a very large drop, he said, "I think we should break up. I can still almost hear the creaking of the wood panels and the cranking sound of the chain pulling system that brought the car to the top.  I was shocked; my head swung to my side to look at him in disbelief and all I could think to say was, 'What??', I probably would have cried or maybe even choked him, but just then, we started our plummet to the track below and all I could do was scream. Who knows what caused him to choose that very moment to dump me (only to change his mind later). Maybe he thought I couldn't react too violently or badly while strapped into the the car of a roller c...

UPDATE - After a nearly a week working on it and trying a load of different software packages, I was able to recover all of my lost data (except my emal contacts and messages, but beggers can't be choosers)! Phew, I feel so much better! My computer crashed for some unknown reason, so with everything backed-up to a secondary hard drive, I did a system restore. For some reason that I still don't know, the system formatted and did the the restore to the back-up drive and I ended up losing everything. Everything! I'm sick about it. Even now as I type I'm sick to my stomach when I think about all that I lost. Everything I've done for my web training (including all of my websites I've done) - gone! Every document, every email, every contact from my address book, every piece of music I've paid for and downloaded, every photograph and every file - Gone! I just got my first job doing a website for my personal trainer. I've already submitted the design...

Occasionally, I like to put on my favorite radio station from back home. It feels good to hear the familiar voices of the DJs and hear the music I used to listen to; although a lot of it seems pretty dodgy these days - my taste in music has changed considerably since I've moved here. It seems that every time I put on the station, they're playing Bruce Springsteen (typical of a NJ radio station I guess) and I almost immediately want to turn it off, but suffer through to see what else they'll play. This morning they played a song that reminded me of a time that seems to be a lifetime ago and I'm suddenly realizing that I'm so much older than I feel and how long ago it was that I was a teenager experiencing things for the first time. It's funny how I'm still making some of the same mistakes now that I did then. I guess some lessons are never learned. I just can't believe it's been nearly 20 years since I fell in love for the first time or that it...

I'm thinking of trying to put together an expat meet-up in maybe London. It seems that's where a lot of people are based out of. Wouldn't it be great to have a bunch of a American girls (and their British husbands) hanging out for the day?? If anyone else thinks it sounds like a good idea - let me know!

I'm feeling pretty good today. It was only yesterday I was feeling down, sluggish and forcing myself to go to the gym, but today I was up early and back from the gym by 11am. The heats been brutal but my mood feels lifted. I can attribute this to a few of things... 1) I have a bit of business coming in with my new make-up artist venture and I at least feel like it might go somewhere slowly. 2) I met with my personal trainer yesterday to go over his website I'll be doing for him. I worked on it today and it really feels good to finally be doing a site for someone else. It also feels good to have the confidence to take it on. 3) I've had some fellow expats contact me recently that have really made me feel so much better. It's been really nice to have someone to relate with for a change (other than my husband of course) that isn't going to make some silly American joke, only to point out the obvious - I'm different than everyone else around me. I still have ...

I'm supposed to be at the gym right now. I think the heat has me feeling sluggish. I keep telling myself to just get up and go, but I really don't feel like it. The dialog in my head has been - 'I guess I don't have to do weights today. Maybe I'll just do cardio' and 'Maybe I can go later' followed by 'God it's hot today - why doesnt his damned country believe in air conditioning??' As I type, I'm still debating in my head on weather or not to just go before I don't go at all. My weekend pretty much sucked. The only friend I thought I had - I lost over the weekend. Our doom has been impending for a while now. I won't go into details, but he told me he wasn't me friend after a drawn out discussion. I've been told that my standards are too high and I expect too much out of people. Maybe it's true. Maybe I do judge too harshly. I just expect that if I'm going to be friends with someone, we have to at le...

I started this site as a way of keeping in touch with friends back home and it quickly became an outlet for me. A forum to be heard on those days I felt invisible as a stranger in a strange place. Living in a foreign country is not an easy venture and this blog helped so much through the really hard times. That being said, lately I haven't been keeping up with it because I've been feeling low the last couple of months and I felt like there was no need to be writing 'woe is me' entries all of the time. But during the last couple of months, a wonderful thing started happening - I started receiving emails and comments from people offering heartfelt well wishes, support and friendship . The best of the correspondence I've received have been the ones that have said 'thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone in how I'm feeling' or simply, 'thank you for making me feel less alone today'. Receiving emails and comments like those really me...

It's been a really long week and I'm so glad it's Friday. One more day home alone and I think I would have lost it! I think this week was a tough one for me because Wayne had to work part of the day last Saturday, so it was an extra day by myself. Plus, the football was on when he got home, so I might as well be by myself. I'm not looking forward to the next three weeks with the world cup. I have a feeling we won't be getting out much, but I'm sure I'm not alone there! The English and their obsession with football (Soccer to Americans) is a strange phenomenon that's really hard to get used to. I can't believe how big it is. It's all anyone has talked about for weeks with the world cup coming and there are England flags everywhere (funny how they're only patriotic when it comes to football)! It is slightly contagious because I have to admit that even I will be watching the England matches. It's the rest of the games that will bo...

I'm really feeling miserable today. It seems it's becoming a real trend these days. I've been consciously staying away from blogging because I really hate to be a wet blanket, and since a lot of what's bothering me has to do with being an expat - I hate to seem miserable all the time because I wouldn't want to give future expats the wrong impression of life as an expat. Everyone's experiences are different, so if you are a future expat, please keep in mind that what your reading may not be 'the norm' for all expats... I have a lot of frustrations lately due to living here. I feel like I'm 15 again and depending on someone else for everything I do. I don't drive here, don't have a bank account or any friends for that matter. This leaves me lonely, walking a lot (way too often in the rain!) , asking for rides and asking my husband to write me checks for various things. It's a real frustration and it's starting to really get to m...