aching...

...It went by so fast...how?? Why couldn't have lasted indefinitely?
Bittersweet...amazing memories and people mixed with missing them already. Sad is hardly an adequate a description at the moment...

could want for nothing else

2 days here and as usual this is how I wish it could be always. Best of friends and laughs and fun and weather and conversation...and birthday presents! I received what has surpassed all as the best present I have ever received, fitting both recipient and garnisher so perfectly it amazes. Not to mention a rose of the most amazing stature (of course the fact that it was given to me adds to the amazingness of it!)Mmmmm enjoy nothing but the moments themselves...

the eve has arrived

The countdown is virtually over. Here we are. I haven't waited for anything as much in a very, very long time...so you'd think I'd be a bit more peppy today, or in fact more jittery and anxious than I have been in the weeks leading up to this, but in fact at 14h00 it has already been a long day, I'm more tired than usual, the weather is Les Miserables, and a headache and general blahhhhness has descended. Even contemplating canceling the pedi appointment in favour of going home to take a nap, which is very un-Myr like.

I hope I'm not coming down with something...please not now...

But such is the mode of the day and I'm not really sure why. Some news of last night may be in part the culprit, but it wasn't that bad and besides may not even work out as expected. I mean, 24 hours from now I'll be at (2nd home) Schiphol waiting with bated breath to board (or at least spanning the mags for a the new Brit Cosmo/Vogue/Glamour). Hmm suppose I'll take the train this time around (NO TRAM THOUGH...never ever again the tram with luggage).

Maybe it's lack of cake. I didn't get any birthday cake this year. Or perhaps it's just a lack of endorphin-inducing food in general and too much of the caffeine/guarana cocktail.

I DID receive one of the funniest presents I have ever receive in the mail today from Mr. Fab JJ, and I laughed and laughed. That boy is ADD-hepped-up-on-fabulousness-crazy and I love him for it.

What is WRONG with me?? MEH! I mean, I'm leaving in less than 24 hours to see two of my favourite people on the PLANET, what more could I ask for? Cake.

That's it I'm going to go boot myself into a happy mood and will be back when I have something exuberantly happy and fantastic to say.

where was I....

Now at the airport I can return to remembering all the fab phone calls and messages I got on Friday. Oh yes so aside from my birthday serenade the Porto boys were in full form even via Berlin and was gibbled to get schwackloads of emails and sms's. *happy face*
Now, I face two super ulta extremo busy days at work while I count the seconds until my next departure on Thursday, one that has been seemingly ages in the making but will be so worth the wait.
Ooohhh will report on fab NEW GBF later!

the Geneva weekend that was

Just have some time to kill waiting for the Xman to come down for breakfast - on the phone with the Woman no doubt - so thought I'd log in to Blog for a quick jiff.
The weekend was pretty much what I expected wrt to actually being in Geneva, and as birthdays go in terms of activities it was I'd say plus d'average. I mean, after all, who gets to say they took a stylin' coach bus to one of the most charming villages in France for their birthday, to be met with bottles upon bottles of Moet et Chandon and sung happy birthday by one of the premiere FIP celebrities? Few.
BUT, what really made my day, was who I heard from throughout. I was woken up by a show-stopping rendition of Happy Birthday Mr. President (originally sung by Ms. Monroe ON May 19, I might add, however many years ago) by none other than GP, only to continue our hours long conversation upon my arrival in Geneva.
Rec'd many more greetings from the other GBF's, all of which were much smile inducing. OOPS will expand later, XMan has arrived.

HAPPY (pre)BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

OK, I know, I am a day early and it seems as though I've been pre-celebrating on an endless scale but seeing as how tomorrow will have me jet-set-satelliting here and yonder to Geneva sans proper computer I opted to make my birthday posting today.

SO, it is now time to play, Where Was I on This Day (and by this day I mean tomorrow, the 19th, of course):

2005: Chicago, Keane, feelin' the Nine West love. I've been over this. Ad nauseum.

2004: Winnipeg, coincidental day off from oh so loved Can Drugs job. Hair appointment and dinner at River City Brewery.

2001-2003 inclusive: Tango. OOOH so many good times. SO, so many. These were formative Winnipeg Pharmacy School years...I miss them. And of course all who made them so missable: most notably Meghan, Harris, Siyao (ONE WEEK!), all the party goers and party crashers alike. I didn't think it could get any better. Who knew??

2000: Asheville, North Carolina. Interesting times. An end, but a beginning.

1999: Winnipeg, coinciding with the opening of the first Star Wars Prequel. Extremely forgettable birthday.

Prior to that, they are all a blur of some gathering or another with pretty much the same players on the stage. Number thirteen, 1991, was a memorable one, plenty of out of town guests and fun and merriment had by all, if I remember correctly. The birthday parties of youth - how do parents tolerate those?? I barely did when I was having/attending them myself. Ugh.

Last night was, within birthday history (pre and otherwise), FABULOUS. Some of my favourite people gathered and were more than generous in thought and gift and company, which I most thoroughly enjoyed. SUPERULTRAHAPPYFACE!

ARGH the day just exploded here with the most ANGERING of issues and I am not only mad but resentful that my post-pre-bday dinner buzz is marred with angst. *sigh* What to top the priority list with until the end of the day....what not to really.

Time to jet - will report in for a live BDAY report from the wonder that is Geneva.

too many??

HMMMM today may actually be the day that I have overdone it on the legal addictive stimulants as I sit here a little zoned and out of focus and typing at a million miles an hour yet unable to really concentrate on anything despite the fact I slept through my alarm this morning til 8 on a WEEKDAY what is with THAT and had a very slumpy start to the morning to find NO good coffee left at all and being forced to drink the swamp water of instant varieties last to the recesses of the cupboard.

*whew*

I can't WAIT to get outta here today!! The sun is shining and I am off early to go get super cute hardware for the upcoming BCN dinner party!! WHOO HOO! And speaking of dinner parties, I got the MOST FABTASTIC surprise today when heard that BH90210 (have not reported much on this front as of lates) will be joining the usual ground crew for a little pre-b-day bash at most favourite venue Floow, where we in fact have dined and enjoyed previously. I hesitate to think it is the venue rather the even making the trip to Den Haag an attractive evening activity, but was told the evening was cleared in my honour despite a grand round of meetings next week. *SMILE*

27 years...11 months...27 days...

Give or take, of course, accounting for leap years and lost or gained seconds here or there depending on rotations and axis etc etc. Such marks my time amongst the Earth dwellers. My, what fun it has been! Well, the last 10 years anyway. Up 'til then I could take or leave it...brooding discontent is the mode du jour of chubby nerdy children who would rather watch Johnny Carson than play with Barbies and whose sporting ability ranked with that of a sedated armadillo.
But, I must say, I DO enjoy my birthday! I mean, it's your day! OK, ok , so you do share it with a few bajillion people but whatEV. It really gives you an excuse to be an attention fiend and be adorned by loving fans the world over, hehehehehe. I have had some UBER bad ones though, AND UBER good ones, last year in Chicago ranking among the best (Keane, twice, and half price Nine West sandals, IF you need reminding). To be really honest I most love the whole concept of a birthday purely for it's party planning potential!! Ahh the intricacies of pulling in all manner of gastronomic and aesthetic enjoyment for the purpose of merriment amongst the masses. Good times. Good GOOD times!
Which brings me to the fact that I am this year theoretically deterring my birthday until arrival in Barcelona, to which I have been counting down for months and am now arriving at DAY 9 (is the ball dropping in Times Square????). AND, not only are there a GAZILLION plans to go out and frolic in good Spanish custom, there are now plenty of plans for some FABTASTIC dinner parties! And, my latest concept for la piece de la resistance of accoutrements: strawberry mint juleps...they are SO RIGHT NOW! Bring on the Kentucky Bourbon. GP has charged me with the menu and decor, he the venue and raw materials. Let us invite the travelers from afar to imbibe and partake in the art of the mediterranean nocturnal dining experience!
In the meant time, stupidcrazybusy days at work, and 3 more till it's up up and away in my beautiful balloon (read: KLM flight) to Geneva where I will most likely be setting up chairs and going on some Lake Geneva tour on the 19th. Joy..rapture...Oh we're also watching the plant grow, aren't we X? LOLOL. Good Ballen times.
Off to scout for more dinner ideas. Good thing the Strawleps are universally complimentary.

the inevitable day we thought would never come

And then there were two.

In one half hour, 171 Da Costastraat will house one less, and despite the advent to this day being stretched and pulled and questioned and batedly awaited, there is much sadness to it as well.

A year and a half is a significant amount of time to spend almost 24 hours a day with someone, give or take various forays away for business or pleasure. And the significance isn't limited to the mere tally of time, but what has transpired in that time and the directions life took within the span.

Not to mention the sheer, gut-wrenching, mouth-cramping laughter. And good times. Thanks to, I believe, mutual understanding of any number of life quirks, there was not one WWF Smackdown Blowout in the house, but there were many, many good times, the memories of which to be tucked away and conjured up at any given moment, as all good memories, to provide only the best of nostalgia.

It really is the end of an era: all remaining threads of IPSF life have now been snipped, all have found "real" jobs, and a new life awaits for one immediately, and all in the long run.

I need some Kleenex...

a lovely day away!

Mmmmm I am just enjoying the last sips of my cafe com leite (estou a beber o meu cafe com leite...sort of...) before I jet out into the sort of sunny weather to partake in a little Porto shopping while the boys are busy starting the work week. What a great weekend!! And tonight we will have a most fab bday dinner to which JP will join (no, not el presidente). Times will be good.
Gotta dash, lates! (I have adopted that from Trent, and will now love and use as my own...)

PORTO-RIFFIC!!

WHEEEE THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!!! WHOO HOOO!! I am right now awaiting my chariot to Centraal so that I may finally embark on the first of many summer journeys. Spoke to the Porto and Barça AND Winnipeg contingent last night exTENsively and all are super excited for both the immediately upcoming good times and those further into the future.

Just had to share!

Hmm I hope this post works.

Time to jet, literally - later gators.

PORTO HERE I COME!

SUMMER IN EUROPE - TAKE VI!!

It is SO BEAUTIFUL OUT TODAY!! Sun shining, warm, and utterly FABULOUS, not to mention a veritable shame we are all inside "working". For the first time since last year I had the summer morning feeling, with nary a twinge of chill in the air, and was happy to realise that this will mark my 6th summer of European love. FEEL IT! LOVE IT! KNOW IT!

Frankly, my summer life did not exist until I started coming overseas. OH sure, there were good times, fabulous times even, skipping from place to place and patio to terrace to Tango to GG's to this that and the other. But MY life, as recognised as how I wanted it to be, did not exist until that fateful trip to Barcelona five years ago, when all hopes and expectations about life in Europe were not only affirmed but raised in the "all I could hope for and more" lifestyle umbrella. And here I am, looking to bring the whole equation full circle with a more then temporary return forecasted within what may very well be a short time, opportunity/ambition/luck/fate willing.

(In a very brainiatic digression I found myself doing algebra by hand the other day, what is with THAT?? I did enjoy x, y, et al in calculytic form all those years ago. Integrate! Integrate! Dance to the music! ...NERD ALERT 8-/ )

Where was I? Oh yes, the pure, enjoyment of life - especially summer - in Europe. Those more than lucky EU residents who partake in the Blog may find it difficult to understand, those back in the Homeland perhaps less so (perhaps not...) but summer really should not be spent outside the Mediterranean triad of Spain, Portugal, and the South of France.

*ring ring* Hello? Albert? Yes it's Myriah. Fine thank you, and you? Oh fabulous! Yes I'm just calling to see if we're still on for the weekend? PERFECT! Yes 2 days on the yacht will do just fine. Hmm hmm, Veuve Cliquot and strawberries, yes. Do you have enough ice? Great. OH Robbie's dropping by for the soiree? Do tell him I'm gibbled. No the Ashton is just fine for pick-up from the helipad, I'm packed light, just the two small Louis...SO looking forward to it as well! Bisous to Steph and Caroline, and see you in just a blink! Ta Darling!"

What??

*snicker*

Well, perhaps it's stretch, but Porto and BCN are not, and I WILL pass go and WILL collect 200 starting on Saturday, and yet another fab summer will commence.

Ta darlings.

happy bob esponja'd feet

WOW that was a long break. Man the drama just never stops around here. In the immortal words of the BEPs, we don't want no drama. Not to mention the fact that my fabulous Coach sandals have given me some fabulous Coach blisters which necessitated a couple of SpongeBob Band Aids. The height of sophistication and class, I must say.

It is still nice out though and in less than an hour I will vacate to enjoy it. Tonight's project: Outfits Porto. I have compiled a mental list of both daytime and evening outfits which of course must be tried on for approval and appropriate footwear choices. I am foreseeing lots of white to go with my impending YSL vintage Grace Kelly-esque scarf....quel linda! Or somethign like that.

Had acid reflux of biblical proportions today. Why do I write this stuff in the Blog? For the same reason that I reflect upon the fact that tomorrow afternoon I will venture forth to the Aveda salon to have hot wax poured on various parts of my body in hopes of smooth silky skin just in time for the Porto kick-off to summer. Hmm must remember to avoid tanning tomorrow, however, as the skin can only take so much torture at one time.

ARGH just as I want to jet-set-satellite outta here more drama unfolds....must go. My profession needs me.

happy feet!

AHHHH FINALLY! It feels as though summer has descended, with the sun shining and the flowers blooming and my feet looking freaking FANTASTIC in my Coach sandals! Thoughts turn to Porto and the hot fun to be had in all aspects this weekend.

ARGGH crisis in the workplace, must enjoy summer later...

weekend adventure!

Original Post Sunday, April 30th...more home Blog trouble...

WOW! It is true that the unexpectedness of life sometimes leads to the bestestness of times, and such was the case this weekend, as The Netherlands in its entirety celebrates Queen's Day, although this is just a side mention and really has little to do with my own adventures.

Strike that. Queen's Day and associated activities had much to do with the fact that on Friday afternoon, when I came to you last, a SHWACK load of trams and buses and modes of public transportation in general were re-routed in biblical proportions, leaving us mere moving mortals (especially those that are defunct in Dutch) stranded, wandering aimlessly, and eventually cursing the very birth of the idea to even go out that night. BUT, many hours and footsteps later made way home only to be rescued (by AUTOmobile) by the Delft Connection for what was to be an evening and night and morning and brunch of FUN. I must say that T and I assembled the most delicious of brunch spreads, and my Portuguese got a good shot in the arm with 20 hours of immersion. FIXE!

Then, leery of facing the same transport trouble on Day 2, left with time enough to zip back to DH to commence Summer Maintenance, Phase 1, and make a stop at the office to collect and disseminate some info for GP (WHO, I am GIBBLED to say, has let me know he has "GREAT NEWS" to hopefully tell me soon. I think, however, I am hot on the truth trail and am SO HAPPY for him, or will be should it all pan out [not to mention that I TOTALLY saw this coming!]. Now of course I'm in the throws of anticipated waiting and can barely hold back from stalking him for answers......WHEEEEE!! MY FRIEND IS HAPPY!)

Where was I? Oh yes, well, went for a little fake n' bake before what may very well be the last great Ballen Family Dinner, at a place that definitely lived up to it reputation of fabulousness. I must say, and I am sure the sentiment is shared, that it was one of the most fun times EVER to be had in an eating establishment, thanks muchly to the provision of coloured pens and the freedom - no, encouragement! - to express ones artistic talent table-top. Ohhh the fun had...God help us ever play Pictionary.

But, champagne and wine and port and coffee and dessert later, the night didn't end then, OH no. We decided it had been entirely TOO LONG without the X Ballen experiencing true Dutch culture, so off we went to Prinsestraat to partake. BUT, it was the men who were the lightweights last night as Little T and I ushered their pale selves home. GIRLS RULE! Hehehehe, hehehehe, hehehehehe.

And what of today? Had envisioned myself venturing forth into the centre to do a smattering of shopping but alas, it IS Queen's Day and the likelihood of stores actually being open is slim to none. Should perhaps check on that. In the meantime, with my tae-bo-yoga-self-prep routine already under the morning belt, I think I will enjoy another cup of coffee in my little couch-nest.