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              | 100 in 1000 |  
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Spend a week up a mountain learning to skiVisit Karoline's place in MoraviaHold a conversation in Czech (only)Drink 500ml of each of the following beers:
PilsnerStaroprammenBudvarVelke PopoviceU FlekuGambrinusKrusoviceRespond to at least one GOARN request (WHO and MSF are 
also acceptable)Travel across the AtlanticReturn to South AmericaRead a book to, or with, an impressionably aged childParticipate in one NanoWriMo Challenge and come within at least 10,000 words of the goal lengthHave my nose piercedHave my next tattoo drawnPurchase the perfect jeans (x 2 pairs)Attend a spin class 3 times a week for 8 consecutive weeksBake Viv's cheesecakeMake David's casserole Make David's Chicken Cashew-nut StirfryInvite 4 people who don't know one another too well to dinnerRide from Vienna to Venice on a motorbike (pillion acceptable, those less desirable)Attend a book group for at least two booksGo on a choir weekend (learn and perform difficult piece in two/three days)Visit Madame Tussaud's (in London)Take an architecture appreciation courseJoin an all-girl group and sing a soloPublish in a scientific journal (top two authors)Cook a duck or other 'waterfowl'.Locate the Al-Timimi's from Doha Veterinary PractiseHave a pedicureMaintain a Brazilian (ouch) for three months.Find a trustworthy Czech hairdresserTreat my inner-6-year-old twice a week (at least)Do the liver-cleansing diet properly (12 weeks)Don't eat out for one monthFind a flat and flatmatePurchase one Joseph sweaterPurchase one of the following pairs of 
designer shoes (they MUST also be COMFORTABLE, and be able to be worn with 4 
different outfits and 2 types of occasion): Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks, 
Christian Louboutin (Ebay or 2nd hand are acceptable)Send 5 books to the booksphere and track them.
Go hangglidingRead 10 'classic' books (from 1001 Books to Read before you Die)
Moll FlandersEverything is illuminatedMadam BovaryZen & the Art of Motorcycle MaintainanceCatch-22OdysseusOn the Road 
Run (non-stop!) for 5kms outside (preferably in a street race thingy)Send Christmas Cards on timeMake a collage/mural out of street lights on my wallBuy a bed, build it, and sleep soundly in itGo to AfricaHost an 'event' (classified as and when)Organise a 30th Birthday PartyWear a costumeSing on stageBuy a painting that evokes memories of Prague (cannot involve queues!)Learn a god-damned card game that stays in my memory (other than fish/snap)See sunrise. Be sober. Have woken for it. Excludes months Nov-MarTake a walk and flip coins at each intersectionWin somethingDraft a willTake a roadtripGo to Italy alreadySea Kayak around Abel Tasman Park (NZ)Get plantsTake a train to another Eastern European Destination (accession countries are acceptable) alone preferably.Get UK to give me a provisional motorcyclists license and simultaneously get a 'card' license. Go SCUBA diving again - at least two dives lasting 30mins each. Go to a dentist. *sigh*Do a Czech Wine Trail. And live to tell the taleMake an 'outbreak emergency kit'. Go to bed prior to 11pm every night (inc weekends) for four consecutive weeks.Marvel over lack of tirednessDine at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant (or Nobu)- preferably for free. 
Bet on the nagsDo something for charity (applying and getting a 'red card' will count)Walk along the Champs ElyseeDo 100 sit ups in a rowDo 50 pressups (arms in tight)Make branston pickle (or nearest substitute)Cook something 'new' and 'adventurous' at least once a monthFind a mentorBe a mentorLearn what mentoring is all aboutMeet an online person in real lifeResist the flirt. Once. Just one night. It's okay if people don't immediately succumb to my natural charm. Really it is.Spend time at a spa (spa towns in the CR don't count)Send a care package to someoneGet a Tata Bojs CDTake a French/German/Dutch course and SPEAK THE DAMNED LANGUAGE WHEN I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES ME SOUND 
LIKE AN IDIOT!Order new contact lenses. Make a list of things I take with me when I pack for different occasionsEat lobster. Prepared by someone else. Back up the blogPut everything onto an external hard driveFind a DDR mat and console and 'dance, I say dance!'�Go to the beach and lie on the warm sand. For an hour. (with sunscreen on, natch)Take and complete a course in either: Tango, Salsa or FlamencoJoin the Municipal Library of PragueMove to another country Go to a live concert of a band I actually likePay off debts (student loan excl.)Send thank you cards for every gift I receive (other than the gift of happiness, blah blah blah).Get an agent (literary or theatre)Go to a sports bar without cringing, by personal choiceRide a rollercoasterHold a snakeSpend a day wandering around a museum (not art gallery!) |  | 
              
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                      | Chivalry is dead |  
                      | Tuesday, 30 January 2007 |  
                      |  There are one or two things that our non-european brethren could do with learning from the European boys. Haircuts and Eurotrashpop aside, I have always had far better escorts amongst the Europeans. 
 And no, I’m not talking about paying for services here.
 
 I mean: accompanying someone whilst perambulating in the same direction for the same purpose or common goal.
 
 Walking alongside someone.
 
 My most recent long-term consorts (as opposed to escorts!) were awful at it. One would walk too slowly, turning a simple “pop down to the dairy” into a “stop-and-smell-the-flowers-and-discourse-about-things” episode.
 
 Pleasant if you’re both retired, but when you have to go just to get some sour cream in order to finish cooking the meal you’ve made, it’s less than desirable.
 
 The other would walk 10 paces ahead, seemingly disavowing any knowledge of my existence, and I don’t think it was in case we suddenly came across a field of landmines.
 
 Both had had some sort of contact with a regimental environment (the NZ Army – a noun I mentioned to a Serbian guy at the weekend which caused him to dissolve into paroxysms of giggles and look with incredulity at me while saying, “you have an ARMY!?” *sigh*) and when absolutely mandatory (as in, I was throwing a hissy fit) both were actually quite good at doing the ‘arm linked’ thing (there HAS to be more proper phrase for it somewhere).
 
 However, males from NZ and Australia that I have met, who haven’t ‘benefited’ from some institutionalisation in their past have not had the wherewithal, ability or desire to walk in such a manner.
 
 I’m all for emancipation, but really, it’s a whole lot more friendly amongst friends, especially when you’ve known each other for 10years now.
 
 Compare those boys with the European boys, who not only walk alongside you, but instantly offer an arm to this, (not-always-a-)LAYdeee!, and you can see who I’d turn to if I needed a champion, can’t you?
 
 TA!
 Labels: Rant |  
                      | posted by Nomes @ Tuesday, January 30, 2007   |  
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                              | 3 Comments: |  
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                                        Mum, of course Dad's more chivalrous. And even now, many young people know the adage "age before beauty"! *insolent grin*
 Daffydd (since you feel like spelling your name unecessarily complicatedly), you were the second of the types. The one who pre-announced my arrival. Charming if you're a footman...maybe I should've gotten you a costume!
                                      
                                      
                                        Hmm, interesting talking point.  M once mentioned a dislike for arm-linking as it smacked of old-world female dependency, and viewed us more as a team than "man as protector" and woman as small fluffy thing wot needs protecting.  And maybe its just me (and you Altos will know how darn slow I am at getting anywhere in a hurry) but I'm kind of partial to the strolling and sniffing the roses thing (flip side, of course, is when I'm stressing out, when strolling and sniffing becomes taut face and speaking in bullet points!).  mx |  
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So which one was I?