Finally Time to Go

Well its about 1:30 in the morning on the night before I leave and my new best friend insomnia has decided now is not the time to part with me. I was talking to Alex online who happens to be starting work as I'm sitting up in bed wishing I could sleep, that I don't really know what I'm feeling right now. Nervousness in not the right word for it, luckily I haven't had a bad case of the butterflies all week. Perhaps they will kick in tomorrow when its too late. I guess I just almost feel numb about the whole situation. I can't imagine not being in my bed tomorrow night, or sitting down for dinner in my kitchen, but I also can't imagine what life will be like for the next little while. Being the control freak that I am this should usually send off red flags but again, numb. Maybe I've just come to terms with the whole situation seeing as how I've known it to be coming for a while. So lets focus on the positive, at least I know that in twenty four hours time I will be in a different time zone, exhausted from a sixteen hour trip and likely able to sleep.

Truthfully, I am so excited to go and see what the next year has in store for me. I know it's not gonna be all coming up roses all of the time, but I'm sure the fresh air will bring new buds to light. So I will leave it at that. Hopefully I will be able to post an update of my time in Prague sometime this week. Can't wait to see Alex. Then I'm off to Zilina on Oct. 2.

Oh Oh

I hate goodbye's, here come the waterworks!!

I have the greatest family in the world

My parent's held a big party tonight at my house in honor of my graduating university and leaving for my internship. It turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. Everyone was in such high spirits that anything went. It all started out with a big Feast, and I mean feast, my mom knows how to cook and my dad even braught out the roasted pig (believe me its delicious) followed by more treats and plenty of drinks. What can I say, we're Croatian, we know how to eat well and drink well, and most importanly we know how to have a good time. I'm sure my neighbors weren't impressed but we belted out one song after another, and danced like it was 1999. I even got to have a Cuban cigar with my dad to remember this special night, we'll finish it off when I come back. Word's can't even begin to express how much I will miss them, and how much all of thier kind words and support have meant to me. They've all played a big role in shaping me into the person that I am today and for that I raise one more glass to them. Zivili!!

Stay tuned, pictures are coming tomorrow; believe me, theres some good ones, along with more from Thursday night at Melrose. Thanks to all of my friends who came out to celebrate with me. It really meant a lot to me. I promise I'll keep in touch.

Pampered

Today was a day where I pampered myself from head to toe. Figured I was due for a good clean up before I leave. I started out by going to the salon to have my hair done. I chopped off quite a lot of hair and I colored it a solid dark shade. I'm sure many women have experienced this, and probably some men, but after you change your look dramatically, it takes a bit of getting used to. You pass by the mirror and shock yourself by the figure staring back at you for a couple days. After my hair appointment I had a nice long massage and then I went tanning (figured I looked a bit pasty with the dark hair). Every time I go and get a massage I always wonder why I don't do this more often. Think about it, how often do you go out and blow at least $60 on a night of drinking and then forking over that money for a massage is somehow difficult? I strongly suggest the foot massage, it's like heaven!

Love is in the Air

Wedding season is winding down and I happen to attend two weddings this weekend. My good friend Sherry married her long time love Alex, and my cousin Tina married her husband Mario.


Both of the brides looked absolutely beautiful and the wedding's were memorable. It was a lot of running around from one end of the city to the other but well worth it. You can check out more pictures at http://blankaspictures.spaces.live.com

My Farewell

Hello AIESEC Calgary,

It's about that time!! I am getting ready to leave for my internship and I would love to get together with everyone at AIESEC Calgary for one final farewell drink (or several, depending on who you are.... hint hint). Please come out to the Yardhouse in Kensington this upcoming Monday between 8 and 9 pm. Let me know if you'll be able to come at blanka.dido@gmail.com and I will try to reserve us a couple of tables. If there is another location that is more favorable for everyone, do let me know and I can change the location.

Hope to see you all there!!

I am now a Croatian Woman

I have officially been crowned a REAL Croatian woman after successfully learning how to make Pita. I know this seems like a bit absured but for those of you who understand the Europeans, you'll know that they are big on cooking. My mother has for years been hounding me to learn how to make Pita and my response was that I'll learn when I have to; well now I have to. Pita, by the way, is a national Croatian dish, very delicious too. I would describe it as a rolled up pastry with fillings inside like meat, potatoes, cheese, you name it. What really matters though is that I am now in the elite group of women who can make Pita, although mine wasn't anywhere close to my mother's who by far makes the best Pita I have ever had. Many of you who have been to my house can attest to this fact.

I even took pictures (yes thats how big of a deal this is) so that there would be no doubts!


Trust me, it tasted damn good!!

Follow Up on To Do lists

It turns out that the story I read in Cosmo about the Life to do list is a lot more popular then I had previously thought. I was watching Ellen yesterday, in my unproductive state, and she featured the parents of the lady who started the Life list. Turns out that she's touched many people's lives and inspired them to create their own lists. As an aside, there was one viewer who had a really good point to add to the list; Learn to say NO without feeling guilty. That one hits close to home for me because I'm always struggling with trying to find a way to say no without all of the feelings of guilt that come attached with it. Guess you can't please everyone.

Am I spoiled??

Yesterday, I had a conversation with my TN manager, Radoslav in Slovakia. We were just going through some final details in regards to my arrival in Zilina. I've been pretty vocal about trying to get my own private room as far as accomodations are concerned. I figure I'll be going through a lot of emotions, moving to another country and all, and I'd like my privacy. Apparently, its not gonna happen, at least not for now. I will likely be sharing a room with two other girls who may or may not speak english, should be interesting.

I know he's gonna kill me for saying this but the notion came up that I'm spoiled, mainly because I want my own room. I've always justified the idea by thinking that its really not too much to ask, but ever since yesterday I'm starting to think that I might be wrong. Perhaps I am spoiled. I live in a great house, in a nice part of a big city, I have a big room with a comfy bed, TV and laptop at my disposal. Many people live with much worse conditions. I know that I've had to work for a lot that I have but then again, my parents have helped me out a lot as well. I'm greatful for that but I've never considered myself spoiled; hmmmm

When a Stranger Knocks at Your Door

I just had a really great experience with stranger that just happened to ring my door bell at the right time. I was settling down to write a post about how I went camping this weekend in Sylvan Lake, and what a jolly good time I had, but now all of that seems really irrelevant.

The stranger at my door was a man named Tam, and he was from Israel. He came bearing a load of paintings with him from student artists all over the world that will be featured at an art show in downtown Calgary, in two months time. He wanted just a minute of my time to show me the paintings and tell me about this show. When I told him I wasn't going to be here in two months time, we got to talking about where I'll be going and what I'll be doing. Surprisingly I felt like I could tell this complete stranger my whole life story. He seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and I was genuinely interested in hearing his story, not just about the paintings but also how he got here and where he was headed in the future. Ironically, his mother and I share the same name. Twenty minutes later and fifteen amazing paintings, with even more amazing stories behind them, we parted ways, probably never to meet again. Nonetheless I'm left with a really exhilarated feeling having met someone so interesting and in such a weird way.

I guess it goes to show that you never know who will come knocking at your door....