Mmmmmmk, sounds like Susan and David (taps foot to both ) are still in the mood for torturing me further with the "10 things about me" blog. Since I have made so many of those, I can't honestly think of anything more to say. But then I thought I could do a list of just 5 facts, adding a pic to each of them so they count double. Can anyone say cheater? :oops:

#1 I collect coasters. I started when I was living in Ireland, and despite I don't get many around here, I have managed to keep gathering a decent amount of them every year. My friends and some people who know of my collection always bring me some when they travel around, and I do exchange the repeated ones.

These are my Guinness ones.

The back sides of 4 of them are combined together to make the Guinness harp. It took me months to get the 4th part. Cool, huh?

#2 Absolutely every single pair of shoes, boots, sandals, flip-flops... (you name it) that I own, hurt my feet. No matter how old or worn out they are, I get blisters every time I use them after a long time going on without them. With the arrival of the summer time, I dusted my summer shoes, sandals and flip-flops. Well, after a couple of days wearing my sandals, I got this nice blister :(

Yeah, that's my left foot :lol:

#3 I love shells. I have a box made out of them where I keep those I've found around. Pity that there aren't big ones in the beaches here. And the small ones are usually broken because the Cantabric Sea is a rough one.

I even have a dissected sea horse. I wouldn't have bought it (poor thing) but someone got if for me so I decided to keep it.

#4 I can't cook to save my life (unless it is pasta) but I can bake decently. I made this apple sponge cake today.

Want a bit? :wink:

#5 My standard default mood is "meh", although it is really easy to turn it to a happy one with the smallest of things.

Yeah, I'm cheating with this picture but whatever, looks almost exactly like me :lol:

With the summer season, open air movies are shown all around the city, and I love to go to those. The atmosphere is really cool and I just love to listen to the tape rolling. I saw "Death at a funeral" on Thursday and I couldn't stop laughing. I laughed until I cried several times. Good feeling, ain't it?

Looking at the program, this was one of those movies that I wasn't sure about watching, because the synopsis was kinda meh, but I'm so glad that I went and watched it. I really recommend it if you are up for some good giggles.

Trailer here (doesn't look very good in the trailer but of course they won't give out the good stuff)

That was all. Kisses for all.

Lady Essie :)

Ever thrown a bottle with a message to the ocean? My dad was a sailor, so I used to throw a lot for him. And guess what? Apparently he got them all, because he made allusions to their content in the postcards he used to send me. But then my mum helped me writing the notes, so no doubt there was a faster way of communication there :lol:

When I grew up and realized he wasn't of course getting any, I started to throw bottles with different content. I always hoped my messages to reach the British, Irish, French, Spanish or Basque shores, but no one ever contacted me back.

Then, I felt bad about tossing so much glass to the ocean, so now I throw like one or two a year. Still unlucky :( Have you ever thrown / found any?

What would you write?

A young Persian gardener interrupts his prince in the middle of his walk and implores:

-Please, save me. I met the Death in the morning and it made me a threat gesture. Let me borrow your fastest horse; I'd like to be in Ispahan tonight, far away from here.

The prince agrees and in the afternoon he meets the Death and asks:

-Why did you make a threat gesture to my gardener?
-It wasn't a threat gesture but a surprise one, since he was very far from Ispahan, where I must take him tonight.

Every decision
we make
shapes a new reality.

Are our destinies a mix of passion, decision, maybe a tad of luck?

Link to the Spanish comercial here

Pablo Picasso was born dead; he didn't breathe.

His uncle, who was a doctor, leant over him and exhaled the smoke of his cigar over young Pablo's nose, who in the end shook and cried.

A bad start is never definitive.

Picasso's paint Guernica

How many great things

would we miss

if we give up

with every bad start we face?

This was taken from a tv commercial about school books. Yes, I am one of those weirdoes that never flip channels when the commercials are on. There are quite a few I actually like. This one is part of a series of 6 (3 to be broadcasted on tv, another 3 on the radio). I'll post a new one soon.

For those of you who are Spanish speakers, here is the link to the commercial.

What was your favourite bedtime story?

Mine was:

The Emperor's New Suit
(1837)

Once upon a time, there was a little sparrow that was late to fly south for the winter.
Soon the weather turned so cold that in a short time, ice began to form on his wings and he fell to earth in a farmyard, almost frozen.

A cow passed by and crapped on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end, but the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, he started to sing.

Just then a large cat came by, and hearing the chirping, investigated the sounds.
The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird, and promptly ate him!
The moral of the story:



#1 Everyone who craps on you is not necessarily your enemy.
#2 Everyone who gets you out of the crap is not necessarily your friend.
#3 If you're warm and happy in a pile of crap, keep your mouth shut!

(Picture by autumlvr)

So... funny coincidences happen sometimes. I invited this friend of mine over for dinner. She's got quite a lot in her plate lately and I guessed she could use the break. She was thoughtful enough as to bring red wine...and two goldfish. Lmfao :lol: Yeah, you heard right. I cracked up. She was a bit huh but overall delighted that I liked the present. Pity most of you aren't gonna get the inner joke, but the whole goldfish thing is this one that has been associated to me like forever in the forums I regularly post in.

Meet then Cuat and Cuatfesh, because apparently, that's how horribly I sound when I say 'Cat' and 'Catfish' :roll: (Says someone with such a funny accent that he can't pronounce 'really' and 'rarely' any different, but whatever *ruuuuuns and hides* :?

As you can see, Kika is much entertained stressing the goldfish out. She can spend hours looking at them and trying to fish them when I look away :lol: On the good side, now I guess she misses Hotz a bit less. JJ, I need your advice. How often do I change the water? How often do I need to feed them? I've heard that the fresh water should have been left to settle for one day before replacing it into the fishtank. Goldfish don't seem to require much maintenance but I'd like the poor things to live as happy as possible in their little confinement.

Any tips on breeding and feeding goldfish, anyone? :wink:

Yeah, lazyzy me. Hmmmk, quite a few right guesses this time. But... hello?. I should pull some ears, specially those of all of you who post together with me in the forums. What do I always say around? Once and again, once and again. That I am a pruuuude. Repeat after me. Prude. Prude. Prude. Geee, will you ever believe it? Yeah, the wrong one was #1. Easy peasy people. Tsk, tsk... :roll:

1. I've made money out of my own nude.

Well, I haven't. Because honestly? Paying for seeing me in the nude is a total waste of money, I can tell. Anyway, I would do it for a good cause, like an anti fur campaign or something like that. Artistic prude nudes, of course :wink:

2. I've sold my hair to make wigs.

Yeah. Well, I decided to cut my hair because it was already right down to my butt when the hairdresser offered me to bread it and buy it. I was ok with the idea but I really didn't take the money because I felt proud to help those people going through something as hard as chemotherapy. I got a voucher for 10 free sessions in the hair salon that I never used. I don't really like going to the hairdressers (that was why my hair was down to my butt in the first place :lol: )

3. I've stayed on a movie session for over 12 hours straight.

I have and it rocked! :D I watched the 3 'Lord of The Rings' movies in their extended editions, the three of them in a row. There was such a nice atmosphere in the theatre, all the fans there with their lunch and their best geeky disposition. Good time!

4. I've swum with a dolphin.

Omg, and it was awesome. There was this dolphin called Fungy that lived in Dingle Bay (Ireland). He was quite a celebrity in the country. I was staying over at some friend's and my friend's dad used to go fishing and for some reason the dolphin recognized the sound of his boat engine and always followed him around and joined my friend when he swam. We went fishing with him twice. The first day the dolphin followed us and jumped over the boat, splashing water at us, being all cute an playful. It was amazing. The second day, when he was used to us, we got into the water and he came over. Apparently he wasn't as close as he used to be, but still he let us touch him. Can't even describe the feeling. Fungy died some years ago.

5. I've fallen asleep in the dentist.

Yes, several times. The music, the heat, the smell... everything makes me fall asleep. I don't have any fear to the dentist because he's never hurt me. It's pretty embarrassing though when he wakes you up to ask you to keep your mouth open :oops:

6. I've been thrown 100+ eggs.

I've been part of a canoeing team for a long time. We were some 15 people and they decided that a good way to celebrate my birthday was bringing a dozen of eggs each and throwing them to me after the training. Add to that flour and you have the picture. I took me ages to get the egg shells out of my hair. Now that I see it in perspective, it was funny. And egg is supposed to be good for the hair so yeah.

7. I've badly burned both my palms.

This happened when I was a little kid. I was spending summer in this little village. Being a city kid and an animal lover I was fascinated by the way people lived in there, having so many animals in their houses: hens, pigs, horses, rabbits, dogs, cats... Our neighbour knew how much I loved them so she called me to go check some chicks she just got. They were on the kitchen, near the cook so I tiptoed and took impulse with my hands to reach over and see the chicks. I didn't know it was a coal cooker and it was hot (that's why the chicks were placed nearby) so I burnt both my palms pretty badly. I remember having them inside two glasses filled with water until the doctor came. I couldn't ride my bicycle or go to the pool for a while, but I got one of those chicks as a present to cheer me up although the chick remained where it was, at our neighbour's house. Year after year we kept spending the summer there, and I was convinced that my chick was one of those hens, when it was obvious that it had been eaten ages ago. Innocence can be such a good thing sometimes :)

8. I've been inside a volcano.

Yup. also in Ireland. An ancient volcano. Gotta check the name though, it was near Conor Pass in Co. Kerry. Pretty cool view with the fog above our heads. Ireland is just stunning.

9. I've taken 12 planes within a year.

And on second count I think they were actually 16. While I lived in Ireland, I kept flying back and forth from home there (Christmas, Easter and so) which meant 4 planes each time. No, no direct Ryanair flights yet :(

10. I've kissed my childhood favourite actor.

Aaaaaaaaaah yes. My childhood favourite actor was Antonio Ferrandis. He played a lovable character in this Spanish show that's been rerun almost every single year since it first aired ages ago. I think it's been the biggest tv show in here. It was just huge. This actor played a really adorable character with a tragic end. I still cry like a baby when the episode where he dies is on screen :oops: Yeah, Jordina and Patry. You are guessing right, I'm referring to 'Chanquete' :D So, I was coming home after spending a day in the beach and I was stopped at this pedestrian zone when my mum pointed me out that this actor was at the other side of the road, also waiting to cross. I started to flail my arms and call him by his character's name. He burst out laughing. Then crossed the road and held me in his arms and I almost strangle him with a hug. He was an excellent man apart from an excellent actor. Rip, Chanquete.

See you soon. I'll blog it again in a month or something. You know me :lol:

I'm much obliged to all of you guys for all the displays of affection and support during this last week that has been so hard to me. I honestly couldn't think of a better bunch of people to be surrounded by. A big hug to all of you who made me feel warm commenting here, sending me pms or bearing with me on msn. Hope I could ever give a tiny back in return. You all rock! :D

Now, I request you to dedicate ten seconds of your life to visit this site and just make a simple click. It'll take you 10 seconds and you'll help lots of animals. I'm stealing this from Suz because I think it's worth spreading the word. Thousands of kitties and puppies are left abandoned, homeless, and/or sick and in need. You can make a difference. It's easy, just click on the link below and then click on the large purple button. You will be donating (totally free) 6 bowls of food. Think of how much you love your furry friend and help another one. The kitties and puppies thank you and I do too! :)

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Then, I'd like to share with you all one of the most touching vids I've ever seen. Tynee sent it to me and I'm so thankful that she did. I strongly recommend you to watch it if you are an animal lover. You may need a Kleenex, I could have used a sheet, actually. It's 11 minutes long but really worth watching. After the first 5 minutes I was wondering what the rest would be filled with. I was most pleasantly surprised.

I dedicate it to my friends who lost their beloved puppies last week same as I did: JD and Tidus, Lisa and Riker, Ash and Jazz and of course to Hotz.

Say Marimo

And then, for those not so found of animals and since my Ada missed my previous quizzie thing, here I come with another instalment of random facts about me. This time only 1 is false. Feel like guessing? :wink:

1. I've made money out of my own nude.
2. I've sold my hair to make wigs.
3. I've stayed on a movie session for over 12 hours straight.
4. I've swum with a dolphin.
5. I've fallen asleep in the dentist.
6. I've been thrown 100+ eggs.
7. I've badly burned both my palms.
8. I've been inside a volcano.
9. I've taken 12 planes within a year.
10. I've kissed my childhood favourite actor.

Indeed. You can scratch up my previous blog title because I'm not feeling that way anymore. Silly me for saying "out loud" which hardly happens 100%. Anyway, my dog died last Wednesday. Only fellow animal lovers would understand what missing a pet means. They are the most faithful and unconditional friends ever.

Hotz had a long and super happy life, I'm actually very proud of that. I knew he wouldn't last long, but it hurts just as much. He died peacefully, or at least the vet thinks so. On Thursday I arranged things for him to be buried and now it's all over. I did all I could when he was alive and even after he died to allow him a proper rest. Now I'm still weepy but the anger is over, and I'm drenched into a deep sadness.

He was about to turn 15 this June. Apparently, dogs his breed don't live that long, and certainly not in such good condition. Apart from some hip problems, he was fine. And he died peacefully, the vet says that dogs cry when they are in pain unlike humans, that can conceal it not to worry others. Hotz didn't cry, he just fainted like a candle. I think he knew he was dying though, but he wasn't alone just like he's never been. I will never ever in my life forget the way he looked at us as he was passing. He was totally saying "thank you" and I wish he knew that he gave back tons more than what he received. And he received all my heart can give. He will certainly be much missed, he brought with him so many memories attached of all the years we spent together... he made my life happier and helped me through some rough moments. He was a great friend.

This is certainly not the blog I wanted to write but it ain't easy to type between tears, let alone trying to make sense out of a dizzy mind. I haven't slept properly for days and despite I collapsed yesterday I'm still emotionally exhausted. It's a good thing that the weekend arrived and I can properly mourn him at home because I can't see a dog in the street without starting to cry. The other day, as I was in the bus, I kept wiping the window for half of the ride until I noticed that it wasn't fogged up, but that it was just my teary eyes making it all blurred. Then I was getting my groceries and buying pet food just for Kika (my cat) felt really distressing. I wake up at night because I hear him barking. I keep calling him randomly and this morning, as I opened the cookies tin box, I just embraced it and broke down because he didn't come to the sound of it wishing for a cookie. I could go on and on. I'm in an emotional rollercoaster, failing miserably at getting over his looss. He was much loved and he is gonna be much missed.

Just a big thank you to all of you who pm-ed me, talked to me on msn and cared about me. I'm gonna be fine, I won't ever trade this sorrow for the long years of happiness I enjoyed by Hotz's side. I lost a friend but I know that I still have many more left in all of you. You are no doubt the greatest, most affectionate and most amazing bunch of people I've ever meet. Thank you all. Squeeze hugs for everyone. Hope you have a great weekend.

Farewell Hotz, I love you buddie :)