inspiration

I guess you could call me a sucker for kids flicks, but whatever you want to call me I will openly and honestly admit: Ratatouille inspired me! Lately I took over Sebas' kitchen and the grocery shopping duties and I have to say that my favorite thing to do as of late - you guessed it - is cook. The inspiration part comes from the scene where Little Chef pukes a little in his mouth because he passes by the aroma of a toxic soup and before he escapes he tosses in three or four different herbs and spices until he makes the restaurant's famous soup.

I have now become an online pupil and experiment specialist at the herb and spice academy of Emily and I plan to take over the family kitchen when I come home too. Get ready fools, 'cause here comes the crazy cook!

10 days and counting

I was reminded today that the end is near... I'm handling it well -all things considered. I only cry once a day, I eat at least one meal, and I sleep 10 hours. The sleeping doesn't make sense to me since I should be drinking in every minute of this city before I leave. I think I'll revise my lifestyle in a day or two before it's too late.

Such is life...

There is a story to tell. This is a rather short story that has begun, but that may also continue on for the rest of time:

Once there was a girl who lived far far away and she was walking the streets between the looming tall buildings of a grand city called Buenos Aires. She thought to herself that day, what am I doing here? This thought was logical since she had moved away from everything and everyone she knew to live in this city with no connection to anyone there except one red-headed friend who had proved to be the best most loyal friend any girl could ask for.

Some days later, after beginning to feel quite confident that she was ready to face the endless streets of Buenos Aires, she went with her red-headed friend to an asado (an argentinian-style barbeque except instead of hotdogs there is a half of a cow on the grill). There her attention was caught by a young man with a bright smile that scrunched up his whole face and his dark brown eyes would sort of squint and make a little upsidedown smile of themselves. In the 10 hours that they were in the same space sharing the same company they excahnged very few words privately. Though the young girl didn't know it, her blue-gray eyes and wild brown curls had captured the young man and at the end of the day, after the cow was settling in to the stomachs of the happy people there, a phone number was offered and taken.

In the weeks that followed, the young man would rush to the door of the girl almost every night at 10:30 to go to a movie or for a drink or simply to be in her company. And each night the girl became more and more aware of her eager state of mind as she ate her dinner and watched the clock strike 10 then 10:20, 10:25... until she received a message with a simple, "toy abajo." She smiled, threw on her coat, kissed her host good-bye and fumbled with the keys as she locked the door. The elevator was irritatingly slow.

She stepped off the elevator and decided that after several weeks of going out in this manner, it was possible that maybe he would kiss her tonight... just maybe. The first stop was the movie theater, but in the previous weeks that had by then exhausted all the good movies and decided to move on to another venue. They began to walk and under the street lights she lightly wrapped her arm around his to block some of the cold wind as they walked, chatting, joking, and laughing for an hour until they eventually came to a plaza. The man mentioned that there was a place he had wanted to take her that evening and they walked across the plaza, turned up a street and found themselves at the door of and Irish pub called Kilkenny.

The mode of the evening ensued pretty much just as it had before and after her second Guinness, the girl felt tired and happy, wishing the night would stretch on forever... Then, as she leaned in to respond to some comment, or to comment on something herself, his head turned and she simply - and without much hesitation - continued to lean until their lips met.

**************************

A little less than two months later, the girl and man were relaxing watching the game at his apartment when they decided they were to lazy to go out in the bitter cold that evening and it was far too much work to try to find something to cook... it was not a normal attitude that either normally adopted, but they went a little crazy and decided to call McDonald's for delivery (in Buenos Aires, if you don't deliver you are the oddity of the universe). This evening however, the lines were busy and the pair was getting hungrier by the minute. They decided to bear the cold and walk the 4 blocks to the McDonald's. By the way, McDonald's in that city is similar to going to a backyard barbeque. They don't serve the flat gray patties of mystery-meat between a bun like in the States, but a real, thick, juicy burger with real cheese...

After ordering they sat down and began their now-established routine of talking about life, the future, plans, dreams, and what they planned to do that week. The conversation turned to the aftermath of the girl's upcoming departure. They were convinced that they loved one another and they were also convinced that a trivial hardship like distance couldn't affect their commitment to one another.

The girl, with little doubt and no hesitation requested a promise: That if their relationship can endure a year of separation with only holiday visits here and there, that he would consider marrying her. His expression changed from surprise to such a glorious thrill that she didn't need him to answer, but he exclaimed anyway, "Of course!" and hugged her hard.