Neverending Sunday - 16 October

My dear Oli!

Thank you so much for your letters! This means a lot, considering how busy you are these days. And you added so many photos of me (blushing). I cannot believe that you left exactly two months ago. It feels like forever… And today the rain is pouring, trying to wash away all sweet memories from our summer... That’s why I wanted to make a sad selfie with your presents, while eating ramen – to show you how much I miss you. But today I had to change all clothes in my wardrobe (that’s why I am writing so late today), because the weather recently really wants to see my sweaters and warm clothes. So, maybe the selfie with the dress will wait for now. How is the weather there? Is it milder in Angers?

It is alright if you can’t listen to every song I share. And it is absolutely normal if you don’t like them at all, haha! Actually, as you may have noticed, recently I do not write about all the songs of each artist’s album. It is really difficult for me to follow everything, too. The only time in which I can listen to all new songs is when I come back from work, so I choose to write about only my favourite ones. It is sad you don’t have time to listen to some music… And your neighbourhood is quite noisy, eh?

Wooow! I have never visited the historical museum in the capital! Indeed our country is small, but has so much history! You were very busy being a tourist while you were in Sofia as I remember. You went to many places in a very short time. Aah, happy days! And the photos from your small holiday with Swann and Ira are very…how to say, delicious, haha! You are definitely a gourmet specialist, your love and taste for good food is marvelous!

As a part from the Neverending Sunday topic I wanted to share something that impressed me from the last week. It is an article from the BBC news site. As you may have heard, recently Samsung had a lot of issues, regarding the new Galaxy Note 7. At the beginning of the past week the company officially halted the production and selling of this device. I remember the same evening when I heard the news on the TV (because I usually don’t watch television and if something happens I can hear the news while my grandmother is watching the evening broadcast), I thought that sometimes we are not the only country that exhibits all its bad features in front of the rest of the world. This, of course, is not something to gloat about. Usually the news always shows the negative side of our own country and we could easily think that we are the only nation that lives in a badly organized community and even worse – the other nations can see this, too. This creates a negative view of your own country. How to explain it?... Feeling of national shame, I guess?

So, among the many commentaries and articles that I happened to hear or read, this one caught my attention, simply because it tackled the issue with national pride and presentation in front of the whole world – a trait we also share. It is very well written and interesting and it will be useful if you can read it. As it is mentioned, “this row is not just about a smartphone”.

I guess this will be the only thing that could be put in a rubrique. A lot of things happened during the last week, some good, some – not very pleasant. But now, after I have read your letters, my heart feels lighter and I think I am ready for the new week. I hope that you feel the same way. To hear that my words from the Wednesday Wisdom rubric make you feel better is an honour. Staying in touch is sometimes difficult and if my letters make you happier, stronger and motivated then I feel like a complete person. Thank you very much for being my friend! :)

With all my love and respect,

Rali

 

Throwback: 2012

Neverending Sunday – 9 October

My dear,

Another week is gone and the weather doesn’t seem to be getting better. Winter is definitely coming! It smells like that – the sharpness of the air and the cold mornings are just the beginning. Although today is sunny, yesterday was dark and rainy and next week is going to be the same.

I had a lot of ideas what to write about today, but I do not have the time to do that. And, apart from that, I do not feel good. Yesterday I had a big argument with my grandmother and we still barely talk to each other… Thankfully, I have ParkHyo-shin’s music to keep my soul away from autumn depression.

Oh My Venus

Last Sunday my wish was to write about a K-drama that I pretty much enjoyed watching. As I told you, apart from Descendants of the Sun, we watched Playful Kiss and also - Oh My Venus.

There is no place for comparison between those two dramas mentioned above, but dear, the Venus freshness could definitely be sensed. The drama is not super new – it aired last year, I think, and it became very popular. But I somehow hesitated to watch it. A huge mistake, as I now recall the funny moments and scenes, filled with warmth and charm.

Oh My Venus depicts the story of a woman at the doorstep of her 30s. She is a lawyer, a little rounded, but sharp-minded and independent (my favourite type of character!). But it seems that her independence and strength weaken under the influence of her weight problems, as we can see in her first encounter with the male lead. He is rich, handsome (you have seen him in Master’s sun) and has some past health issues that still impact his mind and self-confidence.

I’m telling you, my dear, this drama is very light to watch (but not so light in the meaning of superficial and easy to forget). Charming characters, lots of romance and comedy, a little drama and, of course, a happy ending. You won’t regret it! 

Handsome men! (image taken from Tumblr)

Did I say charming?... Yes, I did!

Although I planned to write more, I am now ending this post. I hope that you are okay and you eat and sleep enough. Also, Happy Korean Alphabet Day!

Till Wednesday.

Hugs,

R.

September

My dear,

Continuing my enthusiastic elan, I am currently writing to you to tell how my days have passed since you left in mid-August. Mostly I will write about the first days of September, considering how bad I felt almost during the entire previous month.

Village People

At the end of July I decided not to take a day-off during August, in order to combine the days at the beginning of September and to enjoy some time in or villa near Dryanovo. I really wanted to take you there, but I couldn’t go before that and arrange everything and also, the second wedding and you having a guest from France made it almost impossible for us to go there together. That’s why I think the road trip we did on the last day of July was a wonderful idea at that time.

The last time I went to our villa with my grandmother at the end of April, someone had broken inside and there was a lot of mess. Luckily, nothing super precious was taken, but we had a lot of negative moments while waiting for the police to come and investigate. There were some windows broken and also one of the glasses was pulled down and left on the balcony, with drops of blood on it. We previously had the glass of one of the bigger windows cracked, but it wasn’t so bad; when we got there at the end of April (and to celebrate Easter), there was a hole in it.  I think the damages were more… windows-oriented and, considering how difficult and, maybe, expensive it would be to buy and put the new ones, so I can say it was serious. Also, when my great-grandfather constructed the house, he wanted bigger windows and lighter rooms, thus making the size of the windows quite unusual for these days. 

We went again at the end of June, because I had to go to the police in the town to testify against the thieves who turned out to be two underage brothers, who had escaped from a detention center in the near village. Of course, at the end they were found not guilty and no measures would be taken for them to “return on the right path of life”. This, my dear, is called Bulgarian justice system, and it is useless as all the effort we put in seeking our right.

Anyway, as summer was drawing to its end, we decided that September was the perfect month to visit our villa for the third time. And, luckily, nothing bad happened at that time. I wish we went together with you! No snakes, broken/stolen things or dog mites (as the one that bit me and I had to go to the hospital for an injection at the end of June), or even dead mice, hiding in unexpected places. The weather was cooler and much more bearable than the summer heat during July or even August.  My initial plan was to go there only with my granny, but my cousin and my brother decided they wanted to join us. We had 5 days filled with lots of work, fun, with a pinch of Korean drama. My cousin is all against the Korean wave, but there was no escaping when each evening we watched “Descendants of the Sun”. I think she liked it, because she decided to stay and watch the drama with us after the first night. 

If I had the chance to take you there now, I would definitely do it! We cleaned the garden from the grass and sprouted trees and, as we do each time, tidied up the house (we couldn’t do it properly the last time, since it was only granny and me). I must say, even with one or two people more, we did a lot of work.  My cousin brought her new camera and took a lot of photos. I wanted to make a photo shoot, but we were too ugly, dirty and tired for that, hahaha!

 Rock(-your-ears) Festival

Right after we came back from our trip, there was a Rock festival the other day.  This year it was held in the city center and not in the arena that opened last year.  You could say that this meant an easier escape from the loud noises and screams, but no way! I don’t think I can call it a rock festival, since the “music” there was much more… hm, harder, I guess. Honestly, I enjoyed the one from last year when Nazareth were guests (not that I am their fan, but their music was definitely more melodic and reminded me of Queen). Considering the fact that there are a lot of fans (with hair longer than mine), including our mayor (who doesn’t have any hair, but is also a fan), I think that this (so-called) rock music will definitely be more respected in terms of concerts in the nearest future. Not bad, but why they don’t make a K-pop concert? It will be awesome! (SHINee-e-e!!!Wo-hohooo!) I have the feeling that if there is a K-pop festival in our town someday, it will be when I am dead or retired… (The solution is to go somewhere else, haha!)

New School/Uni Year

As September was progressing, the time to go back to school came. This year is the first year of high school for my brother and the first year at the university for my cousin. He is enrolled in the same high school as me, although he chose Informatics as his main subject; and she will begin her studies at our university. It is really strange to see them going through things that are now behind my back. Nostalgia, sadness, joy and pride are the feelings that occupy my heart these days. I hope that my brother will enjoy his school years much more than I did. I wish him to find his first love, to be both happy and sad, nervous and excited, tired but determined to succeed.

I hope that my cousin will see what really feels to be a student, to go to exams and, hopefully, to meet teachers and professors that will shape her view of the world in some way. The rest depends on her. University may be a way to connect to the real world, but it definitely won’t show her how to live her life.  Good luck to both of them! :)

Speaking of school…I bought myself a new backpack! It is not so big as my last one, but it’s more compact and looks classy. I hope you like it!

In my last post about our summer I forgot to thank you for the presents. You really surprised me! I had the idea to make a selfie, dressed in the black dress from you, accompanied with the watch on my hand, eating the ramen noodles. I imagined it quite funny, since I told you that the pack of noodles would be eaten in my saddest moment. Now the weather is quite cold for the dress and, luckily, I still haven’t had a very sad moment this autumn, but I will surely tell you about the taste of the noodles soon. Once again, thank you for all the mentioned (and not mentioned) presents and for the precious moments we had together!

I can see that I used a lot of words to describe everything so far, which is not bad, but may bore you. I hope that you will enjoy the writings and ideas that I have prepared for you and hopefully I will be more persistent in terms of writing here.

Expect some little surprises, my dear!

In the meantime it would be wonderful if you take some time to write me a letter. Don’t worry if you can’t – I will be happy even if you read at least one of mine.

Hugs,

R.

 

What We Did This Summer - 2

Unplanned things that happened

Not all things go as planned.  But still, we can say that even in those moments a person can find happiness. Some of the things from Part One can also be included in this section.

1)    We saw fireworks!

2)    We saw a hedgehog!

3)    We were around the English language school when the alarm brought the security and the police (of course, we are not responsible for switching the alarm)

4)    We spoke to a person who can’t speak – not a good experience I must say, but it was a bit strange

5)     All the above things happened in one night

6)    W e did not see any falling stars, but we actually prepared ourselves; magical moment on the balcony in a cloudy but warm night (see number 8 from Part One)

7)     We went to the theatre – our first meeting after more than a year apart from each other. We went to see this year’s play, presented by the Student Theatre. Sadly or not, this year I was among the people watching the performance. A strange feeling it is to be just a spectator. 

8)     drinking Korean –made juice with aloe.

Two weddings and two funerals

As I mentioned before, I went to my friends’ wedding in June (I was a bridesmaid, too!)

The pictures of the first wedding finally arrived and they are truly hilarious. Not because of the faces I made in some of the photos, but also the whole atmosphere is very positive and filled with happy vibes. The newlyweds are a wonderful couple and, I must add, that they deserve this happiness, after all the struggle they have been to (it’s very personal and it more information won’t be given). I wish them long years love, health and happiness.

The second wedding was at the end of July. I wore a custom made dress by my mother. It feels good to write it like that – “custom-made” – just like “made by a famous designer”, but it was made by my mom and I think that is even better.

A very fun and light experience amidst the very warm weather, this wedding had its own charm and another good asset – more young people than the old guests. I was there with the couple from wedding number one and it was such a relief (a lot of unfamiliar people = nervousness).

I am glad that I was invited to both weddings and to have such amazing friends that respect me – something that I think I miss in our society or at least in my life recently. To be invisible most of the time may be comforting but it can be painful for you self-confidence in moments when you want to be heard or seen.

About the funerals… I actually wasn’t present at any one of them. It may sound very rude to include them here, but the people mentioned had more or less a significant part in my life or how it goes at all.

At the beginning of August our young colleague to whom I actually have been substitute to, died from skin cancer. She was 25 years old, young and had her life in front of her. Oli and I know her from before; we even went to a tour to Germany together with the choir. When she became a lot worse in her illness I had to take her place for a while. I remember the week before her death I was hoping that she would come back soon and I imagined how I would explain to her all the new things at work... May her soul find peace.

The second person, even closer to me that is not among us anymore, is our class teacher. She taught us Bulgarian Language and Literature and was with us for four precious years, trying to hear each story in one way or another, trying to make us feel valuable and loved. I am not sure that I have all the appropriate words nor the strength to describe her in the most genuine way and also, to say how deeply this affected me. Our class doesn’t have a parent anymore. In two years, if we gather altogether, there won’t be that important person I would like to share all my excitement, bitterness and grown-up thoughts about life. She is just… gone.

Apart from these two cases, that had a great impact, a lot of my surroundings experienced losses of their close people not only in August, but in 2016 at all. I really feel that this year is not my or our year at all, but I stand here, trying to pass all through the hardships, saying that it could be even worse. I am thankful that at least I have my close people healthy and happy around me (or at least trying not to lose contact with me). And I am grateful to see that there are people who actually care about me. Not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform, but in my life.

Exciting things ahead

                         

Angers, here she comes!

Oli was accepted to study E-tourism in Angers. New city, new people, all alone in the rented flat – very challenging perspective, yet very exciting! Of course, she would be even more busy (she already is), but this won’t stop me from supporting her, although I truly miss her and the feeling varies from deep sadness to strong frustration sometimes. Anyway, good luck to you, my dearest friend! Fighting!

Ideas and positive thoughts

Recently I have written a lot of things that come to my mind. I have been doing this for years, but not every time in a structured way. It has been almost two years since I started my current job and started actively writing almost everything that I feel and I have gathered a lot of thoughts, experience and ideas to share. Although they do not have much to do with the work I have, I must say that it is time for me to step ahead and start doing (some) of them. I have this feeling which was lost for a while, that good things will happen. And I think it is time to embrace the positive thoughts and put my introverted, melancholic and depressed side in the wardrobe of my fears for a while. We will see. :)

I think this describes in brief what I wanted to write after Oli left for France in mid-August. Of course, if I was more persistent with the blog, these words would have come in a more creative and certainly not so boring way, perhaps each week during the summer. But, anyway, I am glad that I resumed most (but not all, of course) of the things I wanted to share. I will not write about the future plans for this blog, because big intentions don't always count as big actions.

Okay, that was it. For now.

Bye.

R.

"See" you soon: updates

Bonjour, ma chérie!

It has been a long time, since we both posted here and it's been more than a year since we started this ... thing, haha! (I won't say "common project", because if it was a project we would be more serious, I'm sure!)

Well, I know that you are very busy and you will be occupied with a lot of university stuff for the next few months. Many things happened and most of them were shared between us on Facebook. Shame! 

Anyway, as long as we don't stop posting our letters here, the tradition will not die! 

Here is a song to cheer you up for the upcoming tests and finals! Good luck to you! I believe in your abilities and with more confidence in yourself, you will succeed! As the Koreans say: "Fighting!".

NB: I will soon post some details from the past several months. Each time I tried to write, I couldn't do it, because of certain things. There are files saved on my PC, but I will edit them and post when I have more time. Anyway, I won't continue with the excuses. I hope that you will be able to continue your story with Chapter 2. :)

Enjoy your Sunday and have a successful week! Kisses!

R.

Ice cream, chips and funny talks

My dear Oli, 

I'm sending you some pictures from today's walk with my ex-colleagues from the university. We bought ice cream, chips and beer and we talked a lot. I feel so refreshed even though I ate the whole chips pack, hahaha! 

Good night from me, my dear!

Hugs,

R.

Woohohoo!

Dear Oli, 

So many days have passed and there's a lot to tell!!!

Thank you for the awesome letter and the funny photos! It seems that you had a splendid weekend, hehe! 

It will be nice to see those awesome jeans you bought; hopefully you have already gone to some interesting parties wearing them. ;)

Well, the wedding! I totally forgot to tell you about the colour of the dress! It's a short mocha beige dress with short sleeves and a V-neck (or decolletage as I checked, I think it's the same word in French). I will post some pictures after a couple of weeks. The newlyweds will send me the so-called "official wedding photos" after they go back from their honeymoon which will be in Sicily. Actually, today is their first day of the trip. I wish them a lot of sun and lovely time there!

So, back to the main topic, the wedding was absolutely amazing! I am not accustomed to such events that flaunt with promises of true love, but I can say that I was really impressed by the purity and adoration that filled the eyes of the young couple. I think that nowadays it's really rare to see such bright examples of powerful and at the same time quiet kind of love. Or maybe I just don't spend much time around people in love, haha!

It was a simple, yet sophisticated event with around 60 of their close friends and relatives. I felt really honoured to be there and also wanted to somehow scream of happiness and share my thoughts to the world at that moment... But then I thought that I don't need everyone to know where I was and what I was doing at the exact same moment. 

I don't know if this is a side effect of my "Facebook diet" or just my grown up mind that tells me to enjoy the moment and not to waste those precious minutes only to brag about it in the social media. I was never a good sharer of things on Facebook but the fact that I always checked for news and new messages makes me an addict somehow... Anyway, I hope that I won't have to go back there at least until the beginning of November.

Job news! I went to an interview on Monday and yesterday they called me back! On Monday the 13th I will go to the HR department to see what documents I will need. It's a company that produces agricultural machinery and that sorts of things-something not in my field of interests, but the conditions are very good. I'm sick of being unemployed because it actually drives me crazy to have a lot of free time. Having so much free time is the worst thing that can happen to a young person with a lot of dreams. It makes them more depressed and not motivated because they actually don't do anything to achieve their goals during those moments. I think (and hope) that this job will give me some knowledge about things I have never dealt with. It will be difficult and challenging at first but you know, (almost) everything can be learned. Anyway, I will continue to look around for other opportunities, you never know what will pop up! ;)

It feels good to write letters to you, I am blessed to have someone so close who can calmly listen (or in our case read) to my stories. Hopefully you feel the same towards me, Oli. :) 

You still have time to decide about the last week of October but I can tell you-think also about the good experience you can have with someone. You may visit a certain place again and again but what matter the most are the people around you and how do they make you feel.

On the other hand, if you have the desire to explore new places, you can suggest this to your Chinese friend and I'm sure both of you can figure something out together. Even if you don't go to Paris now, you can always plan a weekend trip and enjoy a couple of amazing days in the good company of friends. :)

Aah, I see you wrote your letter under the influence of Beyonce and Jay-Z! I love Queen B!

I also enjoyed the song you posted (Oscar and the Wolf- Princes), it's already on my playlist!

My music suggestions are so many, but I will tell you about only three of them.

Right now I'm listening to Akdong Musician's new song. It reminds me of the sunny autumn days, the yellow leaves that fall peacefully on the ground and the walks in the park with friends. I really like AKMU, their innocent and fresh sound can get you out of any depressed state.

My second suggestion is a band I found a couple of days ago. It's called Les Sales, I think that they are also Korean. Their English is quite impressive, at least when we speak about the pronunciation. During autumn I usually listen mostly to such songs (indie-like, I'm not a genre specialist). So this song is really cheerful and it makes me want to go out for a walk, wrapped in a scarf, wearing cosy jeans and my favourite white blouse with black stripes. Yup, indie-ish style, haha!

Last but not least, The Wombats. This song is old, but also good for an autumn adventure in the city. ;)

That's enough for now, I hope that you won't get bored of my long letter! Thank you once again for you fast answer and awesome photos. It seems that you will be in charge for the blog photos for now. 

I'm really looking forward to your answer and am sending my greetings (and also my grandma's best wishes) to you and your family. Thank you once again for being such a wonderful friend with a big soul!

Take care, my dear!

R.

Oscar and The Wolf - Princess

Hello, October!

My dear Oli, 

It has been almost a month since we started this blog and we haven't posted anything yet! There are so many things I want to tell you! This is my first letter to you. It won't be perfect, but we have a lot of time to become better at writing and posting here. ;)

I am still searching for my dream job (or a job with a meaning), but it seems that these days there haven't been many opportunities for me in our town. I went to some interviews for the past couple of weeks and the only advantage is that I became much more confident in myself and better at asking questions. It seems that most of the employers here are not used to the practice of being asked questions. I think that this is a huge issue for people my age who want to find a job with a meaning. Anyway, it's a very long topic to talk about and I don't want to spoil your day. I still think that there is hope or at least I have a month to be  picky while searching.

Autumn is finally here and it's... cold. Yeah, there's the sun, but it feels like it's just for decoration. I kinda always find it hard to appreciate the many colours this season offers while struggling to warm myself. 

V.'s wedding! I have a dress, my granny finally finished it! I still can't believe it's October and in three days my best friend will be married. I am very excited, although I still cannot digest the idea that somebody my age is making such a huge step in their life. But still, I know both of them and must say that they are serious young people, who just follow the steps of normal couples. Anywayyy, I wish them all the best and I kind of envy him (but in the good way, of course), because she is gorgeous! My friend V., you are lucky I am not a man, because your girl would be in danger, ha-ha! I am sure that we will have a great time at the wedding on Saturday. I will try to post some photos here, but I don't promise anything, Olli. 

So that's it for now, there are a lot of other things of course, but let's just start it simple. I am really looking for your answer! Last time we spoke you showed me some of the things you bought for Halloween. And what happened with the Erasmus plan, any updates? How is the weather there, is it freaking cold like here? 

I'm waiting for your answer, my dear.

R.