Festival number one

The last two months have had so many impressions and overloaded my brain that now I can hardly breath without burping up some confused memory or picture. LESS than a week after I got back from Israel and the wedding there my loved one decided to surprise me in Stockholm. I hadn’t even unpacked my bag yet!

I was overwhelmed, over the moon and over worked. Luckily I was the only person at work so I could “work from home” another term for “pretend you are working hard when you actually aren’t”.

I can’t really remember what we did during the 3 weeks I made food some days, other days we had dinners at various friends and family.

One week we went up north to a hippy trippy festival. You know the kind, world music, dreadlocks swinging over Djembes, rainbow coloured cars, cute girls giving away free hugs and strangely enough a Thai food stall behind every tree or bush.

Most of you would probably say that this was the perfect place for me. For some reason people think of me as some kind of hippy which pisses me off no end.

Ok, I have long flowing hair without styling but that’s just because I would rather spend my money on a book than a haircut. Long flowing skirts – hmph, something I only wear at home or on a journey far away. But a long skirt is the most practical attire. A long skirt is warm on a cold day and cool on a warm day. Great protection against mosquitoes and comfortable and one doesn’t have to wear underwear. Plus if I had the gorgeous slim legs of my sister, I too would be wearing uncomfortable and impractical miniskirts like her. But as long as I can hear the tiny voice of my mum’s in the back of my head going “Oy, sweetie, it is such a pity you didn’t get daddy’s thin legs!” I will not bother with the minis.

So why does everyone think I am a hippy?

Because I like roaming the world? Not really true, all I want is to find a place where I want to stay and get out of the place I’m currently in.

Do I embrace the philosophy of love, peace and smoking dope? I love love that much is true, but I do not believe in peace and I don’t smoke dope any more. It’s boring.

And all that stuff that many hippies are on about – healing, auras, dream catchers, wicca, astrology and energies – I am truly sorry because I am sure I will hurt someone’s feelings now but all those things are to me just what they are – bull shit.

So after a week I had overdosed on hippies and Thai food and even though we had a great time, as soon as we got on the bus home I was overjoyed.

Israel in July

Since I wrote last I have been to Israel for my loved one's brother's wedding. It was "over the top", by the sea, massive amounts of food and exciting, but finishing long before it should have finished. It was also a bit nerve wrecking meeting a load of family and as usual a bit boring at times when I stood in a group of Hebrew speaking friends with a phoney smile on my face pretending that I was not present.

The Drummer Boy had got us an apartment in the centre of Tel Aviv so that we could enjoy being together more fully. I mean, I adore his parents but it feels a bit weird sleeping on a bumpy fold-away bed that sqeeks every time you breath - in the room right next to his parents.

The apartment in Tel Aviv was huge and empty apart from some humungous cockroaches who fought for my attention with the hungry mosquitos. Also it was extremely noisy because of the cars, mopeds, trucks, buses, people and cats on the streets outside. What is it with all the honking in Israel?!

I became very sick just after I arrived in Israel, only a major cold but a few days after the Drummer Boy caught it as well only this time the major cold germs had metamorphosed themselves into deadly super cold germs. This is according to the Drummer Boy who was seriously dying for 24 hours. After surviving that first day and night (I mean myself) everything more or less went back to normal. Drummer boy a little paler after his near death experience and myself a bit less impressed by my love.

One of my favorite things in this apartment was our neighbour who every day around noon got up and stood with one foot on the balcony railing next to his dog and watched the world go by.