It's been a while since I posted last. I am realizing that I REALLY don't like writing, but since people enjoy reading the blog, I will try to post at least once a week.
You can tell that you are a local when people start asking you for directions AND you can provide them with correct directions. Well, I guess I should mention that my GPS device helped with the directions, but that's beside the point. :-)
Few days ago, as I was walking back home carrying grocery bags from my trip to the farmers' market, I was stopped by a francophone lady asking me if I spoke English. As a matter of fact, I do. :-) Lady's husband (waiting in the car with diplomatic plates) works for the French Embassy in Sarajevo. They were on a week long vacation, trekking from Sarajevo through Banja Luka and Zagreb on their way to Ljubljana.
Poor lady (and her husband) was looking for a Sheraton hotel, and everyone was sending her downtown. The lady did not realize that there were two Sheraton hotels in the city, and that she was staying in the one that was not located downtown.
Using my trusty GPS, I was able to find their hotel (2.5km away from where they were). For some reason, streets in Zagreb are laid out in a really wacky way so there was no way for me to give directions that these poor folks could remember. I told them, I'll hop in and take you there. It was just easier, and less painful for them.
Few minutes and several confusing turns later, we were at the hotel. The couple was so thankful that I helped them, they wanted to drive me back. I thought that it would have been kind of pointless for them to drop me off at home and get lost again. So I walked home (2.5km with grocery bags in each hand. I needed a walk.
The couple offered to take me and Carla out for supper that night, so I told them that I would check with Carla and get back to them. Carla thought that it would be fun to get together with them so we picked up the couple at their hotel in the evening and took them to a nice restaurant downtown Zagreb. Carla did most of the talking (in French) as the husband did not speak English and the wife was not comfortable speaking in English all evening.
The supper was lots of fun as the couple had a lot of stories to tell (they have lived in Beirut, Iraq, and a lot of other interesting places). After the supper, we showed the couple around downtown Zagreb and they were thrilled to have a 'local' guide them. I guess I'm a 'local' now. :-) This was definitely a time well spent!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
We're baaaack!
Just came back from a short trip to a three Croatian islands. We had a great time!!!
First, we booked four nights on island Krk in town of Punat. We arrived there in the evening and went to check out the town's promenade. Then, we had a supper that I am still trying to forget (I think you have to be really good to make meat taste bad :-( ). The evening was so hot, and our apartment had no A/C (first lesson of this trip, always ask for A/C in your room), so we had to leave doors and windows open to get some airflow to cool of the apartment.
Well, fresh air came in but so did a commando pack of battle-hardened mosquitoes! It is really hard to sleep when you can hear mosquitoes buzz around your ear. What an unnerving noise. We had a really crappy sleep, so we decided to call the owner and try another place. Luckily, the owner agreed to return most of the money (we had paid for the full four-day stay in advance) so we were off to another adventure. Decided to try another island.
We took a ferry from Krk to island Cres and visited a tiny, quaint town of Cres. It looked beautiful, like something you've seen on a painting of a small fishing village. We spent about half and hour there and then took off for the island of Losinj (islands Cress and Losinj are connected by a 10 metre bridge).
Town of Cres
We drove to the town of Mali Losinj (a little bit bigger than Cres but still beautiful) and stopped by a travel agency to inquire about vacancies. The agency staff would only show us the really expensive stuff (100+ Euro = CAD160+) so we decided to search on our own. We found a street where every house seemed to have an apartment for rent. So we looked at probably 20 apartments until we found a place that matched our price/comfort ratio. :-)
The apartment was really nice, and it had A/C!!!! The view from our balcony was great, and I have a picture to prove it. :-)
We spent the next three nights visiting the core of Mali Losinj, Veli Losinj and beaches in the area. Veli Losinj had the best restaurant by far. They made all their food on a wood burning grill and stove so everything tasted SO GOOD. Their pizza was heavenly and their cevapi were the best that I've had in Croatia. In addition, this restaurant (Fortuna Grill) was charging half the price of all other restaurants. Go figure!?
The trip back on Tuesday was interesting. On our way back from Mali Losinj, we took a detour to a tiny (population 20) town of Lubenice, situated at a top of a cliff. A friend recommended we see this town as it is close to a beautiful beach (30 minute walk from the cliff) and a beautiful view from the top of the cliff. Nice place but getting there was a bit scary. To get there, we had to driving on a narrow one lane road with 6-foot stone walls on each side. I was praying not to meet a car coming from the opposite direction as it would not have been fun.
View from Lubenice
First, we booked four nights on island Krk in town of Punat. We arrived there in the evening and went to check out the town's promenade. Then, we had a supper that I am still trying to forget (I think you have to be really good to make meat taste bad :-( ). The evening was so hot, and our apartment had no A/C (first lesson of this trip, always ask for A/C in your room), so we had to leave doors and windows open to get some airflow to cool of the apartment.
Well, fresh air came in but so did a commando pack of battle-hardened mosquitoes! It is really hard to sleep when you can hear mosquitoes buzz around your ear. What an unnerving noise. We had a really crappy sleep, so we decided to call the owner and try another place. Luckily, the owner agreed to return most of the money (we had paid for the full four-day stay in advance) so we were off to another adventure. Decided to try another island.
We took a ferry from Krk to island Cres and visited a tiny, quaint town of Cres. It looked beautiful, like something you've seen on a painting of a small fishing village. We spent about half and hour there and then took off for the island of Losinj (islands Cress and Losinj are connected by a 10 metre bridge).
Town of CresWe drove to the town of Mali Losinj (a little bit bigger than Cres but still beautiful) and stopped by a travel agency to inquire about vacancies. The agency staff would only show us the really expensive stuff (100+ Euro = CAD160+) so we decided to search on our own. We found a street where every house seemed to have an apartment for rent. So we looked at probably 20 apartments until we found a place that matched our price/comfort ratio. :-)
The apartment was really nice, and it had A/C!!!! The view from our balcony was great, and I have a picture to prove it. :-)
We spent the next three nights visiting the core of Mali Losinj, Veli Losinj and beaches in the area. Veli Losinj had the best restaurant by far. They made all their food on a wood burning grill and stove so everything tasted SO GOOD. Their pizza was heavenly and their cevapi were the best that I've had in Croatia. In addition, this restaurant (Fortuna Grill) was charging half the price of all other restaurants. Go figure!?
The trip back on Tuesday was interesting. On our way back from Mali Losinj, we took a detour to a tiny (population 20) town of Lubenice, situated at a top of a cliff. A friend recommended we see this town as it is close to a beautiful beach (30 minute walk from the cliff) and a beautiful view from the top of the cliff. Nice place but getting there was a bit scary. To get there, we had to driving on a narrow one lane road with 6-foot stone walls on each side. I was praying not to meet a car coming from the opposite direction as it would not have been fun.
View from LubeniceAfter the visit to Lubenice, we got back on the road and got home safely. I would highly recommend visiting the island of Losinj, and the town of Mali Losinj, to anyone who intends to visit Croatia. It is such a beautiful and serene place.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Shopping bonanza
When Carla and I decided to move to Croatia, we were a bit concerned if Croatia would have good selection and variety of products in their stores. Well, there is nothing to be concerned about. They've got everything and more!
So far, we have been primarily focusing on visiting Croatian grocery stores. We have visited Konzum, Billa, Mercator, Interspar, Lidl and Getro. All of these stores sold a wide variety of grocery items, were beautifuly equipped and decorated, and most of the stores also carried large sections of other types of goods (housewares, electronics, small appliances, dishware, etc.) The prices vary considerably between the stores so we are still trying to figure out which store will be our favourite for our weekly grocery trip.
There is a small Konzum store near our apartment (half a block away), where we load up on any items that we run out before it is time for our weekly grocery trip. We love living downtown!
We had a chance to check out a few Croatian malls and we are very impressed. Most of the modern malls here were built in the last few years (and another big mall is just starting to be built). So far we've been to Avenue Mall, Importanne Centar, City Centre One and Kaptol Centar. All of these malls were really nice and super modern. There are a couple more malls that we would like to visit (King Cross and Mandi). As you've noticed, most of these malls have English names. It's a cool thing to do here (to give your mall an English name).
Pretty soon we will be going to an office products store to buy a work chair for a computer desk. That should be fun as we have yet to see what their office stores look like.
In the past, Croatians travelled to Austria or Hungary to buy products that were not available in Croatia. Now you can find absolutely everything in Croatia. The times have definitely changed!
So far, we have been primarily focusing on visiting Croatian grocery stores. We have visited Konzum, Billa, Mercator, Interspar, Lidl and Getro. All of these stores sold a wide variety of grocery items, were beautifuly equipped and decorated, and most of the stores also carried large sections of other types of goods (housewares, electronics, small appliances, dishware, etc.) The prices vary considerably between the stores so we are still trying to figure out which store will be our favourite for our weekly grocery trip.
There is a small Konzum store near our apartment (half a block away), where we load up on any items that we run out before it is time for our weekly grocery trip. We love living downtown!
We had a chance to check out a few Croatian malls and we are very impressed. Most of the modern malls here were built in the last few years (and another big mall is just starting to be built). So far we've been to Avenue Mall, Importanne Centar, City Centre One and Kaptol Centar. All of these malls were really nice and super modern. There are a couple more malls that we would like to visit (King Cross and Mandi). As you've noticed, most of these malls have English names. It's a cool thing to do here (to give your mall an English name).
Pretty soon we will be going to an office products store to buy a work chair for a computer desk. That should be fun as we have yet to see what their office stores look like.
In the past, Croatians travelled to Austria or Hungary to buy products that were not available in Croatia. Now you can find absolutely everything in Croatia. The times have definitely changed!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ouch, that hurt!
Question: How do you make a grown (Croatian) man cry?
Answer: You make him watch Croatia lose to Turkey in the 2008 Eurocup quarter-finals.
Croatia played Turkey in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Eurocup last night. The game was tied at the end of regular play (after 90 minutes). Two additional 15-minute periods were played where Croatia scored in the last minute of the second extension period. Then, right at the end of the added time (it's a soccer thing, they always add a few minutes due to stoppage in the game) Turkey scored an equalizing goal.
So it was up to penalty kicks. The first and second Croatian kickers missed the goal, while the Turks scored two goals. Then, the Turkish goalie made a save on the third Croatian penalty kick, and the third Turkish penalty kicker scored easily.
What hurts is that:
1. Croatia was a better team with more chances throughout the game,
2. Croatia scored right before the end and everyone thought we were safe,
3. I have to put away my checkered Croatian jersey for two years (until the WorldCup in 2010). :-(
The whole country was in mourning today. Absolutely everyone was depressed and feeling like a great opportunity was wasted. I can't even watch the rest of Eurocup as I feel so sad about this loss, especially as Croatia played well in the first few games.
I think that soccer is a very good representation of life. Soccer (life) is:
1. Not fair (no instant replays in soccer or life),
2. Best player (person) does not always win the game,
3. There is only one 2008 Eurocup (life).
I just watched Netherlands lose to Russia, and I can definitely relate to the sad look on the faces of the Dutch fans. It sucks when your your team loses! Especially when the Netherlands played so well in their first three games.
There is one lesson from all this that can be applied to life. While you may experience (what may feel like) crushing defeat, there is always another game to be played in the near future. Success and failure are temporary phenomena. It is our mind that makes them permanent.
Answer: You make him watch Croatia lose to Turkey in the 2008 Eurocup quarter-finals.
Croatia played Turkey in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Eurocup last night. The game was tied at the end of regular play (after 90 minutes). Two additional 15-minute periods were played where Croatia scored in the last minute of the second extension period. Then, right at the end of the added time (it's a soccer thing, they always add a few minutes due to stoppage in the game) Turkey scored an equalizing goal.
So it was up to penalty kicks. The first and second Croatian kickers missed the goal, while the Turks scored two goals. Then, the Turkish goalie made a save on the third Croatian penalty kick, and the third Turkish penalty kicker scored easily.
What hurts is that:
1. Croatia was a better team with more chances throughout the game,
2. Croatia scored right before the end and everyone thought we were safe,
3. I have to put away my checkered Croatian jersey for two years (until the WorldCup in 2010). :-(
The whole country was in mourning today. Absolutely everyone was depressed and feeling like a great opportunity was wasted. I can't even watch the rest of Eurocup as I feel so sad about this loss, especially as Croatia played well in the first few games.
I think that soccer is a very good representation of life. Soccer (life) is:
1. Not fair (no instant replays in soccer or life),
2. Best player (person) does not always win the game,
3. There is only one 2008 Eurocup (life).
I just watched Netherlands lose to Russia, and I can definitely relate to the sad look on the faces of the Dutch fans. It sucks when your your team loses! Especially when the Netherlands played so well in their first three games.
There is one lesson from all this that can be applied to life. While you may experience (what may feel like) crushing defeat, there is always another game to be played in the near future. Success and failure are temporary phenomena. It is our mind that makes them permanent.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Let your body do the thinking
I was just looking at my To Do list and thought that it is not getting shorter but longer every day. It can be overwhelming knowing that every day you have more and more to do. Calling/visiting family, emailing friends, posting pictures, furnishing the apartment, keeping up with the news in Canada and Croatia are just a few of the things on my list. Not to mention: get a bank account, deal with a bank in Ottawa for an overpayment of mortgage, deal with a lawyer in Ottawa, get health insurance, request visa for Carla, etc. etc. On top of that I would like to think that daily things like eat well, sleep enough hours a day, workout, enjoy life, love my wife, and keep the place clean would have a prominent place on this list.
Being a recovering perfectionist (still trying to kick the habit), I have decided to stop using a To Do list. From now on, I will have a Daily List (things that I want to do every day/week) and a Whenever List.
My Daily List will be short but sweet: sleep well, eat well, love your wife (and show her that you love her), work out (not quite every day), enjoy every day (very important!), and be happy (happiness needs not be delayed to some time in the future). There, a very simple but a very powerful list. I know that if I only do the things on my Daily List, I will feel good.
On those days when I have extra time and energy, I will tackle my Whenever list. My Whenever list will have tasks listed in order of priority, but that order is just a suggestion, not a must. The whole point is to do the things that you have energy and interest in. Sure, at the beginning you may not feel like doing the right things, but that is ok. After a while, your body knows what needs to be done and when. I have stopped using shoulds and coulds when it comes to things that I need to do. I will either do something now or I won't. I will not do it because I should or because someone else thinks that I should. I will also not be pressured by guilt into doing something. The body knows what it does and does not need to do now.
I have been using my head to decide what I should do in life, but now I am trying to use my body (feeling, gut, intuition, or however else you want to call it) to guide me in what I need to do. Our body is constantly giving us clues on what is good or bad for us. We are tired when we need rest, we are sad when we need support and encouragement, we are hungry when we need nourishment, and we feel pain when something is wrong with our body or our soul. It is not pain that we need to stop, it is whatever is causing the pain that needs to be fixed. Sure, take a Tylenol to stop the pain, but then try and figure out what is causing the pain, or the pain will come again.
When I started my MBA, I was in the mode of using only my head to make decisions, but I quickly realized that the world is not black and white and using your head only will not get you the best results in life. I am getting better at using my intuition/body to make decisions that are good for me. It is still work in progress, but I am happy that I've started on this path. I still use my mind to come up with options, but the body has the final say. :-)
As far as my Whenever List, I'll get to it when my body can handle it. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear your views!
Being a recovering perfectionist (still trying to kick the habit), I have decided to stop using a To Do list. From now on, I will have a Daily List (things that I want to do every day/week) and a Whenever List.
My Daily List will be short but sweet: sleep well, eat well, love your wife (and show her that you love her), work out (not quite every day), enjoy every day (very important!), and be happy (happiness needs not be delayed to some time in the future). There, a very simple but a very powerful list. I know that if I only do the things on my Daily List, I will feel good.
On those days when I have extra time and energy, I will tackle my Whenever list. My Whenever list will have tasks listed in order of priority, but that order is just a suggestion, not a must. The whole point is to do the things that you have energy and interest in. Sure, at the beginning you may not feel like doing the right things, but that is ok. After a while, your body knows what needs to be done and when. I have stopped using shoulds and coulds when it comes to things that I need to do. I will either do something now or I won't. I will not do it because I should or because someone else thinks that I should. I will also not be pressured by guilt into doing something. The body knows what it does and does not need to do now.
I have been using my head to decide what I should do in life, but now I am trying to use my body (feeling, gut, intuition, or however else you want to call it) to guide me in what I need to do. Our body is constantly giving us clues on what is good or bad for us. We are tired when we need rest, we are sad when we need support and encouragement, we are hungry when we need nourishment, and we feel pain when something is wrong with our body or our soul. It is not pain that we need to stop, it is whatever is causing the pain that needs to be fixed. Sure, take a Tylenol to stop the pain, but then try and figure out what is causing the pain, or the pain will come again.
When I started my MBA, I was in the mode of using only my head to make decisions, but I quickly realized that the world is not black and white and using your head only will not get you the best results in life. I am getting better at using my intuition/body to make decisions that are good for me. It is still work in progress, but I am happy that I've started on this path. I still use my mind to come up with options, but the body has the final say. :-)
As far as my Whenever List, I'll get to it when my body can handle it. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear your views!
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