I will survive!

I have started a training program to be certified as a supply chain professional. I will take all my spare time. The class is taken place every Saturday for the duration of tree months, 1200 pages have to be read and memorized, exam has be to be passed and all this in your “free” time from work, and I work 9-10 hours every day. In other words, I will have even less time to blog. On mind come the lyrics from Gloria Gaynor song “I Will Survive”:

It takes all the strength I have not to fall apart…

I will survive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I&noredirect=1

Chocolate-Monday

This morning I got a surprise! On my desk was waiting a present! I am known to be a chocolate-holic, and one of my peers gave me a present. The chocolate was 5 pounds and bigger than keyboard, everybody was astonished by its size. I shared it with everyone, today was a Chocolate-Monday.

“Café Europa” on Las Olas charges customers with huge “optional“ gratitude

The restaurant “Café Europa” has very nice food, but it is very expensive too. The restaurant serves the Italian cuisine, and I hate to admit the food is delicious. All service- folk talk to you with lovely romantic Italian accent, and the atmosphere is great. Everything is too good to be true… until you get your bill.
The restaurant “Café Europa” on Las Olas charges you automatically with 20 -22% “optional “gratitude. How gratitude can be optional when it is already included in bill? It makes me piss off, not only me, other people too. Last time we had a company of eight people; the service was acceptable but not the best. We got a bill with a huge “optional” tip. We asked to exclude the tip from the bill and pay cash according to the provided service. The waiter refused to do it, he was rude, confrontational and referred to the restaurant “rules” to include tip in a bill when a table more than six people. Lie, lie and lie: after this incident I went there with my girlfriend (only two of us), and the result was the same — a tip of 25% (!!!!) was included in our bill. Outrageous! As much as I love the food there I will never go there again, EVER.

As a local, I would rather recommend you truly authentic Italian restaurant, “Kitchenette.” You will never regret it, the food is amazing and nobody forces you with “optional“ gratitude, you give tip according to the service that was provided.

Flu

This week was one of the most frustrating weeks for the last 6 months. I got sick: sore throat, persistent cough, fever, constant sneezing, nasal congestion and all the other symptoms when you have flu. I had to go to work, due to I was scheduled for training program, which runs ones in a year, and I could not miss it. After the class I had to stay a couple of hours at my desk to fix the urgent issues.

When Friday came, I was so relieved to get chance to rest and stay in bed. I did not exercise, I did not move myself, and I did not even change my pajamas. I am a little bit better right now, at least no fever, but still it will take a week before I can take up my exercise again.
Everybody is sick around me, some kind of flu goes around and people are coughing as mad for weeks.

I am back to Florida, and life is as usual. During last two weeks it was cold in Florida, I even had a leather jacket when I came back from France. Today the temperature is back to normal, and the central street of Fort Lauderdale, Las Olas, is very crowded. Today also is the annual “Art Show”, which is really big event here. Tomorrow is Monday. God, I wish we could skip Mondays.

Мелкие неприятности больших перелётов.

Время летит быстро и через два денька уже надо ехать домой. Опять придётся лететь с двумя пересадками: через Амстердам и Атланту. Последний раз в Амстердаме, после просмотра ручного багаже, я забыла мой ручной чемоданчик на конвейере. Вспомнила уже в киоске, покупая воду, да как рванула назад за забытым чемоданом с неоплаченной бутылочкой воды в моих руках. К тому времени, мой чемоданчик окружили сотрудники безопасности, я забрала чемоданчик, сразу же бегом бегом назад в киоск пока за мной не послали полицию за неуплаченную воду. Всё вроде бы обошлось, голландцы люди спокойные и здравомыслящие, кипиша не подняли, хотя с Американцами мне пришлось бы долго объясняться, как за забытую сумку, так и за неуплаченную воду.

На этот раз мне пришлось поплатиться за мою дурную привычку －закрывать и не закручивать банки, бутылки, тюбики, пакеты из-под молока или сока и так далее－на моём горьком опыте (Арина, поздравляю, ты не одна искусственница в этом грязном деле). Минеральная вода разлилась по всему рюкзачку, из не плотно закрученной бутылочки, которую я засунула в рюкзак, при приземлении в Женеве. Мой мобильный телефон долго измывался в агониях, дрожа, вибрируя и издавая странные звуки умирающего электрического аппарата. Хорошо, что iPhone лежал в другой сумочке. Да уж, мобильник это тебе не разбитая банка помидор, на что, я, великий рукодельник и оттачиваю своё мастерство, продолжая хвататься за незакрученные крышки при доставании их холодильника.

The New Year’s Eve French dinner

Yesterday we had a New Year’s Eve dinner consisted of 10 small meals at very nice gourmet restaurant: ”De L’ALTIPORT.” The dinner started at 8pm and continued after 12, and the atmosphere was very French and merry. The restaurant was quite small, and I counted only six families and yet a couple of tables were available. After we had enjoyed the midnight wirework at the restaurant’s terrace, we went back to the warm and cozy restaurant. In a matter of seconds we were surrounded by the other guests who were wishing us happy New Year accompanying it with the abundance of kisses. It was awkward from the beginning, I did not recall when the last time I had exchanged so many kisses with completely strangers, but after a while we all felt like a big family. Everyone was happy and merry. I was not happy about Alex tooking an espresso, and I was really distress when the waitress tried numerous times to serve spirit to my teenager. After the second try I was very clear that it was not OK, and I did not accept the French frivolous way to serve vine to kids. Other than that the party was excellent. Regardless my not drinking even champagne －my “Yoga Promise”, yearly detoxing of body － I had a blast.

Do not ask me about the ingredients of the all courses. I can only tell you that it was super delicious and very French cuisine.