Somehow I have to make this final Breakthrough, Now!.

I am making breakthroughs here in Spain, finally. I´ve made friends, I am finally getting to grips with the language (with amusing tales of numerous errors to relate at some point in the future).

Numerous more obstacles to overcome, but things are looking up. Will be back to blogging just as soon as I find my feet and finish an overdue design.

Christmas Survived

The largest part of Christmas may be over in the UK, but here in Spain the celebrations are ongoing - culminating on the 6th January, the day after my 33rd birthday. I am loving living in Spain, despite the setbacks and heartbreak I have experienced over the last couple of months in particular. Relocating to a different county is hard, but relocating to a different country is far more difficult than I ever imagined.

Christmas was a really trying time. I am atheist, and resolve only to celebrate Christmas in order to share a special time with family and friends. But this year there was just my mother and me, and it was quiet.  The last month has been especially difficult, for reasons I feel unwilling to divulge here. I feel I am facing a difficult New Year. I am battling to master the language, and overcome desperate feelings of isolation and loneliness.

But its not all bad. I love life here, and still maintain that this is where I want to be. For now. I have a job, of sorts. I have a nice apartment with views over gardens and a swimming pool.

Happy New Year! See you in 2008!

Merry Christmas

Just calling in to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Have a wild one!

Hiatus

This enforced hiatus from both blogging and design is a little difficult to deal with. I am missing having regular access to the web! Sadly however it is not going to end at any point soon. Unless of course I win the lottery. If anything will force me to return to the UK it will be finance. 

At last!

Three week´s without internet access is not my idea of heaven. I had never realised how I had come to rely upon it.

Loving my new home, but circumstances mean I will be relying on the local internet cafe a lot longer than I initially thought. I have only just found the place! 

Pink October Wordpress Themes

As promised I have released two wordpress themes for Pink October - both of which can be seen live and downloaded from Geek with Style :: Pink October.

this is like a secret note

Hello interents, Luka here! Thanks fembat for allowing me to take over here at Fembat.  Your pink theme is quite nicely. Making a pink layout is definelty on my to-do list for this weekend. Gotta have it up by Monday i’s say! October 1st is also the Start of the BoobieThon! This year is the sixth annual - I just can’t believe it! I gotta take some pictures this weekend too! Thanks again Eliza! Have a great weekend!

Romance Novels

So, here’s what I was thinking last night as I finished another romance novel.  I love them to death, don’t get me wrong.  I love that they have happy endings and stuff.  I really like that love wins and conquers all at the end.  It makes me utterly happy and content with life. 

But - here’s the thought. 

Am I creating an unrealistic vision of how love should be?  Am I expecting more than I should out of how things should be for love and romance? 

I mean, I understand that a lot of romance novels are unrealistic.  It’s rare to fall in love at first sight.  I know that.  I get that. 

I just - I don’t know.  (;

Is this why I’m still single?  Am I expecting too much?

Appropriate Notice

On Monday we were due to move to our new home near the coast. We secured this property several weeks ago, and gave notice on our current property.

At 9pm this evening our agent contacted us with the news that the owner had decided not to rent it out after all. Two days notice? More importantly, a weekends notice - not even given working days notice in which to secure for ourselves another property.

Is this fair? I think not. 

Pink October

Welcome to the latest reincarnation of Fembat Unhinged - Tickled Pink especially for Pink October.

The design still has a few little quirks which need to be stamped upon and forced to obey their master, but otherwise its pretty much done. Gone live slightly early owing to the fact I move on the 1st!

So if I can go Pink for October [and I really hate pink] then why can’t you?

Free for all Friday #2

Eliza is taking part in her second Free for all Friday. Since I will be moving to a home without adsl this may well be your last chance for sometime - so make the most of it. Here’s a little about is

Free-For-All Friday (FFAF) is a unique blogging meme - it isn’t about what you post, but what others post for you. You particpate by allowing the general blogging public the ability to post on your blog via a guest account. As the blog owner, you get to set the guidelines - but it IS called Free-For-All for reason. FFAF is a tremendous opportunity to get to know your readers while they get to know you.

If you would like to make history and take up the offer of posting here at fembat unhinged please head to this page

*This post is a bit sticky, all new entries will be below this one!

Thursday Thirteen #8

Sadly this will be my last Thursday Thirteen for a little while since I will be without internet access after the house move. Thats a nerve racking thought!

Thirteen things I actually do miss about the UK.

Tomorrow is my very last Free for all Friday before I go, and subsequently your last chance to post here for sometime. Oh, and don’t forget to participate in Topical Tuesday.

Thirteen Things I miss about the UK

1. Living only a mile away from the cinema. Seemed like such a small thing until Order of Phoenix and POTC 3 were released.
2. Being fluent in the local language. Yes, I speak some Spanish. I’m a little rusty. I’m trying to learn. But sometimes I miss the simplicity of conducting everyday business in my native tongue.
3. Take Aways. For those days when you just do not want to cook.
4. Autumn Colours : The vivid colours of Autumn in Yorkshire and Scotland.
5. Local Asian Food Store : I used to live 30 minutes from an Asian Supermarket. I loved that place so much. Noodles!
6. Fish & Chips
7. Scotland. Yes, I actually miss Scotland. The people. The accent. The pub at Findhorn
8. Shops that open seven days a week
9. I really really miss my old horse Dublin. Sometimes so much so it physically hurts.
10. Superfast Broadband. I never realised how much I took it for granted.
11. Friends. I never realised how much I took them for granted.
12. Insulation in Winter! Damn it, I was so not prepared for the house being colder than it was outside. In March this year I was taking clothes off to go outside for christs sake.
13. Local Swimming Pools which are free from fish, shopping trolleys, beer bottles and are open all year round.

The reasons I love Spain far outweigh every single one.

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Pownce Invites

I have seven pownce invites to give away since I am a generous spirited soul with a penchant for social networks. First to ask gets.

Topical Tuesday #4 Back to School

Welcome to Topical Tuesday - a new meme where we try and get people to just discuss topics on their blogs. Topics are posted on Tuesdays. Post your thoughts and opinions on your own blog! Pass it around!

Topic :: Back to School

I’ve had a mixed relationship with school, most due to one teacher who made my life a living hell for a year. Putting that year aside I loved School. I excelled in Art subjects - History, English and Art. I did moderately well in Crafts and Sciences. I loathed and despised anything involving needlework or knitting.

I did fairly well in both my GCSEs and A levels, and was packed off to study History & Spanish at university without very much thought. Needless to say I rapidly discovered that History was not the degree for me. Problem was that the following years I spent my time moving from one course to the next. From History to Equine Science, from Equine Science to History & Drama, and finally to Interactive Media. Needless to say my qualifications are quite literally all over the place.

I find myself thinking longingly of school and university at the moment. Mainly because I don’t believe I made the most of it whilst I was there.

I have intentions to return to university again [I am imagining the collective groaning of a multitude of friends and family across the globe at this very point]. But this time I am going to the Open University, so I can study and work at the same time. I will probably start in late 2008, when I have decided on the course I would like to take this time. Chances are it will likely involve Design or Environmental Science.

Thursday Thirteen #7

I fancied something a little seasonal, but had to search the web for some much needed inspiration on this one. In the end I returned and simply pictured Forres, Scotland. I imagined myself driving along the road to Elgin, through the woods which had turned Gold and Red. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I always maintain I do not miss my home [England], but sometimes I do miss Scotland. Rather ironic, since I only lived there a few months.

If I were ever to return to the UK to live, it would be there.

Thirteen Things to love about Autumn

1. The Colours - The reds, golds and muted browns. Colours of fading warmth, that bake the increasingly cold days in an ethereal glow.
2. The smell - Have you ever walked through a forrest in Autumn? The leaves are falling to the ground, and carpet where you walk. The smell is almost intoxicating.
3. The sound - The crunch of fallen leaves beneath my feet as I used to walk through the forrests in Morayshire.
4. The clothes - People no longer stare when you are wearing clothes that cover you from head to toe, after all its getting cold! Autumn shades appear in my wardrobe to help cheer me up on cold days [not that we have that many here!]
5. Halloween - As a passionate reader about the occult, and someone whose own works focus primarily on it, Halloween is one of my favourite festivals of the year.
6. Squirrels go nutty!
7. Food - Making pickles, jams and chutneys.
8. Food [again] - the emergence of heart warming stews and heavy British puddings
9. Fire in the hearth - Nothing warms a home more than a real fire burning in the hearth [gas or electric equivalents just are not the same!]
10. Silence - Kids have returned to school, leaving the streets once again desserted and silent during the day
11. Flying Ants - A recent discovery for me, no flying ants after the August madness!
12. Autumn Fruits
13. End to the heat - An end to the scorching heat of summer, but not quite into the cold of winter. Bliss. When I had a horse this would be my favourite year to go out riding. We would be clipping the horses ready for winter, and dragging out the rugs from their musty boxes.

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