Gooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllll!

I thought I would stay on top of one of my goals by bitching about the fact that I can't force myself to do another one of my goals.

I am supposed to go to an Irish Pub tonight to listen to an Irish band. Who are starting to play right about now. But it's cold out. And I'm tired. And I don't want to walk across the city by myself. And I don't want to go to a bar by myself. And I'm all comfy in my pajamas.

But my husband is giving me a hard time and I'm feeling guilty about setting a goal and not achieving it. I still have more nights to try to make it to listen to a band. I don't HAVE to go tonight.

And let's talk about the things I have done.

• I've gone to the gym at least twice a week. 
• I've been blogging at least twice a week. 
• I went to brunch on Sunday which was part of the MeetInPrague group and met some people, had some food and got out of the hotel.
• I'm contemplating going to see the opera Carmen on Friday. 
• I'm also going to try really hard to go to spin class on Thursday.

Some of these things are a bit easier for me to do while doing anything involving any social interactions and/or exercise is harder. Such as showing up at a Pub by myself, ordering a beer and then sitting alone, by my lonesome, hoping that no one comes up to talk to me while at the same time trying not to look anyone in the eye in order to avoid any potential social contact. Look at the baby! Look at the baby!.........

Does it show that the thought of this makes me uncomfortable? Sure listening to the music would be great, but my social awkwardness (read fear) is totally winning. 

Yeah. I'm totally not going. There is always tomorrow. It is St. Patrick's Day after all and maybe I'll be able to blend in the background and just enjoy the music. Yeah. Tomorrow sounds like a much better plan. If I can't make it to an Irish Pub to listen to some music on St. Patrick's Day then I don't deserve to call myself half Irish anymore. 

Hold me to it people! I obviously did not cave to my husband's peer pressure, but maybe your peer pressure will make all the difference!

I would totally be going if my husband was here. Where is my social crutch when I need it? I miss you honey!

Je suis un ananas

Kept Man and I were having our nightly skype call (gotta keep the romance alive!) and he was mentioning that he's been trying to watch movies in French to get more exposure to the language. Only problem is that even the Disney movies talk really fast and use big and/or slang words making it hard for a beginner to really keep up.

Trying to think of something easy for him to watch I remembered these silly videos in Middle School French classes that involved a pineapple. The word for pineapple in french, ananas, is one of my favorite words in French to this day because of this video.

Once I mentioned a talking pineapple be both immediately googled (like the bay area nerds we are) and low and behold Ananas is on You Tube. God bless the internet.

And I had forgotten about the song! And Ananas is pretty freaky looking. He looks like one of those strange dolls with the moving beaks and the eyes that move back and forth. I forget what they're called.

Anyways now Kept Man has at least 13 episodes of Ananas and beginner French to enjoy. Or be slightly disturbed by. Whatever.

I smell

like an ashtray.

I don't know if it's just Europeans or Eastern Europeans in particular but people in Prague smoke. A LOT. Apparently the anti-smoking campaign has not hit here yet.

It's no wonder Philip Morris has a big presence here.

Gross.

Alone Time

As many of you know I'm back in Prague. Alone. Kept Man is back in Marrakech taking care of the apartment, cooking, running, biking and hanging out with some friends.

I'm working, catching up on TV that Kept Man hates and holing up in my hotel room. A bigger hotel room than last time I might add. Same category but just a little more space. And larger windows. Kept Man is going to smack me now.

Many of you may be wondering why I didn't just stay in Marrakech. Why go back to Prague. Why separate myself from Kept Man and our life in Marrakech. There were a couple of reasons.

1. I'm doing interesting and brain challenging things at work which is so much better than the current situation in Marrakech where I'm left with practically nothing but busy work to fill my time.
2. I'm raising my profile in the company. I hope. Which at this point in time is pretty important.

Things aren't looking so great in Marrakech. No opening date, lots of people leaving, lots of tension. Anything I can do that results in positive impressions of me and keeping me working in the company are a priority numero uno at this point.

Unfortunately the novelty of staying in a hotel and being in another city has worn off. Basically I'm bored an lonely. And while I tell myself about all the career pluses to being here, the opportunity to have a little alone time and pleasure of watching some tv shows without groaning in the background I miss Kept Man horribly. I miss the silly faces, and the hugs and the nightly cuddles. I also miss his not so subtle pushings to make me get out of the hotel on the weekends.

I am a creature of habit and I hate to do new things. I like familiar things. I like knowing where I'm going, who will be there, what the place looks like, what's expected of me and how to act. New places and experiences have none of these things and I therefore do not like to deal with them unless pushed, prodded, or accompanied by someone familiar.

I'm sure many of you are now thinking, "how did this girl end up in Morocco?!" The answer is I pushed myself to make the move to Morocco. And I didn't think. I leapt with out looking. And I knew I would regret not having taken the opportunity and adventure when I had the chance. And I had Kept Man who gave up his job to go traipsing around Europe and North Africa with me. I had a human security blanket.

But funny thing about taking a leap it can sometimes lead you to somewhere unexpected. And the leap to Morocco has now lead me temporarily to Prague. With no familiar people, places or things. With no Kept Man and a lot of time to think. And be lonely and feel sorry for myself and lay around in bed like a bed potato. And I've decided I need some goals. To push me. To keep me active. To keep me from hiding under the blankets all weekend with only a computer as a companion. And I hope that you my very few readers will help keep me accountable for these goals. Some of them are of course more long term but I'm hoping that on the way to reaching the bigger goals to tell you all about the short term ones when I accomplish them or more amusingly when they might blow up in my face.

So in no particular order, the goals, ahem:

• run or bike for a least 30 minutes 2 times a week
• make it to a spin class once a week while in Prague
• go to a Meetin Prague event
• go to the Irish Music Festival the week of St. Patrick's Day in Prague
• go to the opera once more in Prague
• finish all the books I have with me in Prague
• take a trip to the Sahara Desert with friends
• take a trip to Essouria with Kept Man
• try out Surf Berbere or something like it
• become better at French
• save for a down payment for a home
• find a hobby I enjoy. The following are ideas to try
• Knitting
• Quilting
• Biking with Kept Man
• Photography
• Gardening
• Ballroom Dancing
• Home craft projects
• go back to school and/or take classes to help better my skills for my career
• start a family
• blog at least two times a week 
• take a trip to the greek islands with Kept Man
• go see a leg of the tour de france with Kept Man

Hold me to it people! Or tomorrow being a bed potato is going to sound even more appealing than it did today.

*Suggestions for the goal list are welcome
**Obviously not all of these goals (even the shorter term ones) will be possible in Prague or Marrakech. They're to remember later
***Amendments can and will be made to this list
****Berating is allowed in order to get me to accomplish any short term goal.