This is probably too private for most people, but revealing it serves a purpose;) I like to end my showers with cold water. Authentically cold. It started probably 10 years ago during a ski holiday somewhere in Slovakia, where the cistern was not large enough for the amount of guests and whoever got a shower later then earlier got the colder water. Nothing worse then a cold shower after a long day of skiing in the cold. But towards the end of the holiday the few unfortunate times I was not among the first to shower I actually started liking the cold water. There was something very soothing about it. It was only a positive experience if first I got at least a few minutes of really nice hot water. That was the beginning of a daily routine. After I returned home I just could not have my showers any other way and it’s been like this ever since.
I grew so accustomed to the practice that I am completely unaware of practising it. I was until I started visiting American hotels. By American I guess I mean where the furnishing is American, ergo where the capital is American, or majority guest nationality; whatever the case, it is something I found only in this side of the Atlantic and not necessarily mainland USA.
I am an open mind, or at least I like to think of myself that way. I travelled a lot since little and still do, so I know not everything has to be the same and different places have their different ways. But the American hotel showers just drive my crazy. Who do I complain to? The issue is the shower knobs or shower dial, the whole system of picking your waters temperature and intensity.
Let me explain. In most European establishments you have 2 dials, one to regulate the amount of cold and one to regulate the amount of hot water.The more of whichever water you choose the stronger your flow. But if you choose very little of both temperatures, you can have your balanced mix at very low intensity; and if you choose a lot or maximum of both temperatures, you have a strong or maximum intensity. Basically you are the master of ceremonies. You decide.
standard European 2 knob
I have also seen 2 faucets, each for each water, which I admit is not convenient and probably only present in very old hotels as a nice but impractical relict of the past. And I am not lobbying for these.
Then there are systems which have 1 handle. Usually moving it right/left gives you different proportions of hot/cold water while moving away/towards you gives you different intensities of the selected by you desired proportion of hot/cold. This is simple to use even if you foam in your eyes, you can still arrive at your perfect temperature and intensity with one hand and closed eyes.
handles which move left/right to control temperature and away/towards you to control flow intensity
And there is the system I keep on encountering in American hotels. grr! This system has just one dial, which moves one way to turn water on, opposite to turn it off. Unfortunately the dial serves also as a temperature regulator. As you reach the maximum intensity of water you reach burning temperatures. As you turn back towards colder water the intensity of the flow turns to a drip. And when I reach my satisfactory cold temperature I no longer have a shower, I have a drop every 2 seconds:(
most unimaginative shower system
How come so little imagination for an activity so important, so daily and, I thought, so cherished in the US?
Thanks to one of my Facebook contacts I found out about another court story in Poland. As the links I give can only be read by Polish speakers, I decided to do a short summary this time. Apparently one of Poland’s prominent politicians, one which is actually known and recognised abroad, I would even say, one which is liked abroad, said an unfunny joke in the presence of the wrong audience.
The joke was, according to me, just not amusing, maybe a little juvenile and, probably to most, politically incorrect. It supposedly begun with a question: Do you know that Obama has Polish roots? The offensive, to some, reply was: his grandfather ate a Polish missionary.
Everyone has their level of sensitivity and their specific sense of humour, so whether you find it hilarious or not depends on so many factors such as age, nationality, upbringing, probably your political orientation, your knowledge of African and Polish history and most likely a few more. Nevertheless to any educated person, I am guessing, this joke comes across as not politically correct, bearing in mind the public figure who said it and the public figure it was about. I don’t see it as racist though. Which is what the Polish Minister is accused of. And I certainly don’t see it as grounds for taking to court. Which is what certain politicans wish to see happen to the Minister. Poland are you bored???
Artist Diane Bronstein is having a painting give-away. It’s organised in the form of a contest in which you can win her painting of a dress. The rules of the contest are explained in her blog Inspiration by Design.
One of the rules of the contest was to post a picture of a favourite dress. I don’t really know if I have a favourite dress currently and my first association when seeing this paiting was a wedding dress, my wedding dress in fact:) So I am posting both, Diane’s work and my wedding gown.
Ghost of a memory Diane Bronstein
my wedding dress in company's ad
Anyone can participate in the contest, so visit Diane’s site for more details.
After one of my inspiration bloggers harel, I am posting a video I’m sure all women will enjoy:)
I could not stop staring at SJP in this video. The singing girl looks so much like her now and so much not….talk about a transformation, about blooming, about the ugly duckling story.
So puzzled by the change I started looking on the internet for pictures of young SJP. I never paid attention to whether stars had plastic surgery or not and had no idea what was the case with the SATC icon. I stumbled upon a very interesting blog, which I recommend to anyone considering plastic surgery or even botox, as it shows plenty of celebrities with incredible close up shots. Shots that show pores! Amazing, and I thought I was the only one cursed with them;) The page discourages the procedures, just to be clear;)
Sarah Jessica Parker 15.05.2008 in Berlin
I landed on the site through google images and was planning to only borrow the image of SJP now and before, which easily prove she had nothing ‘done’, yet as the pictures were within an article I started reading….I spent some time on the site:) The article makes it even clearer that Sarah Jessica Parker bloomed into the inspirational beauty she is now naturally.
Sarah Jessica Parker in London 12.05.2008
I’m sharing with you the pictures I found because a) she’s gorgeous on them b) they look completely unedited c) you can see pores, lines, wrinkles and even excess moisture and she still looks great! Plus it’s easier this way to compare the Broadway girl from the video, although its still not easy to believe it:)
Sarah Jessica Parker 04.05.1995 in NY
[all images come from http://inyourface.freedomblogging.com]
1. Of course he is black. But what is the big deal?
2. Yes, he is the first President to be not white. But was this all these elections were about? a choice between black and white? Or were there other differences between the candidates?
3. Everywhere I turn today all I hear is that America has chosen a black men for the White House. Was he not black before he won? Why is everyone making such a big thing out of ethnicity n o w? If being black was so spectacular why wasn’t it the only thing people talked about during the race?
[via donate.barackobama.com]
4. Plus, I feel that emphasizing his colour so much not only takes away attention from the values and programmes he won for, it completely diminishes their importance. Sincerely, looking from the sidelines at the hype about a black President gives the feeling that he would not have won, had it not been for his colour. Which of course is not true. He did not choose to be black or to be born in a period when societies still make a fuss out of a black man’s success. Why point out his colour in his position? Who are you praising? him for his success or yourself for having evolved enough to look through skin colour?
5. As a bystander, I am astonished at the importance attributed to race. He is black, so what? There are so many other more important qualities to discuss about this man. If all you point to is his colour, is it all you see? Did you pick your head of state for the next for years primarily on his skin tone? If not primarily, why am I under the impression, this is the primary news today? Was all this about “the next step on the moon”? Would you have chosen Oprah for president had she presented herself, to obtain a symbol, just to achieve that Berlin Wall feeling?
6. Further on, would you have voted for him had he not been black?
7. Had he been white would you have voted for McCain?
8. Lastly, was this vote about America proving to itself that racism is in the past? Would you feel guilty for having voted for McCain, because you’d think not giving your vote to a black candidate means you’re expressing a racial point of view?
If you think the above questions are insulting, a twisting of reality or simply have nothing to do with you, please stop saying Obama is black.
