Picture snapping

I absolutely love snapping pictures at my kitty. She's about four months and more mischievous that ever. She gets into these circus like situations, where M.and I can't believe she's real. M.recently said "look at us, we have so many pictures of Nina, imagine what we would do with our child."I agreed.It's actually quite ridiculous.If you take a look at my camera, every other picture is of Nina. And we have had her for about two months now?!I can't help it."Oh, look, she's standing on her two paws!Where's my camera?" "Oh, my God, she's soooooo cute, wait, I wanna get my camera."
Thank God for digital cameras. Well, you know what I mean.
So here's one example of my fascination. Just one. If I could, I would probably paint this blog with furry,orange cuteness but I realize that not everyone out there is a cat lover. Or in love with their cat as much as I am.

Flowery Manhattan

Have you noticed how one can buy flowers anywhere in Manhattan? All kinds, all sizes, all the colors, various combinations...and it won't cost you much of time nor money. They're in front of these small, all-in-one stores, usually run by Asians. At least the ones I've been to.I actually prefer bigger stores, not because bigger is better--sooo not true--but because they have more choices and look cleaner and nicer. I like to buy food at a nice place, so kill me. Superficial?I don't think so, not when it comes to food, or health, or clothes...Well, maybe, a bit.
Anyway,back to the flowers. My humble opinion is that guys in Manhattan screw up more often than guys any place else. That's why they can just pick up these beautiful, ready-to-go bouquets anywhere on a street, in a matter of seconds, and it won't cost them much.I bet the apology hurts much more;-)
I wonder, though, if it works?
Any thoughts?

Telephonic interview

I had my first telephone job interview today. At first, I didn't understand why she wanted to do a telephone interview, instead of a face-to-face one.It was an interview for a media company, where appearance counts for at least as much as the experience. But you take what you can get. I do believe I'm much more charming in person than over the phone;-)She just must be way to busy.
It went well, I think? I made her laugh. I mentioned a fresh D.C. sex scandal...She did quiz me on current events.
I said I have no salary requirements. And I don't. I have no idea what they pay people who want to do what I want to do here.
I talked about me, but not too much...Maybe I should have?
She told me she'll get back to me-as soon as they invent the position I'm looking for. A Martian from Eastern Europe?
She asked me if I'm willing to move?I just moved!
She was very nice, forthcoming and helpful. I will send her a "thank you" card.
Anyway, this was a BIG DEAL.Have I mentioned that it's an enormously successful company? And if I can get my "foot in the door,"that, by itself, would be a success.
Keep your fingers crossed!

American service

I've spent half of my day waiting for a cable company. We got our cable a little over 3 weeks ago,and this Saturday, it didn't want to play with us anymore. So we call the company. They can't send anyone until Tuesday. We are so not happy. Not that we can't live without TV, but we actually like to use what we pay for. So the technician was supposed to show up between 8a.m. and 12p.m. The first call:"Ma'am, he will come close to 12o'clock." "O.k.,"I say, and get on with my life. The second call:"We're apologizing but he will come closer to 1o'clock, Ma'am."At this point,I'm amazed with my patience."O.K.,"I say and get on with my life.
The third call:"Your building does not allow contractors, only our own technician so this appointment has to be a whole day thing."?!If Martians would come down and hear this, they would think that the cable guys are paying ME for a service. Then, well, I had to put my foot down. "There is no way I'm going to be at home from 8 a.m.to 7 p.m." She rescheduled for tomorrow. Deja vu?
Another story. An Internet company. We have Internet on and off. Basically, it's an Internet with a character, that's probably why it's expensive.I call the provider. The recorded message:"Thank you for calling us. You can also find the information you need at WWW...." Well, thank you very much for that. I swear, they must be mocking me and laughing out loud?
It's ridiculous!These companies are making a fortune our of people like me and their service is really undermining my intelligence. So why do I put up with them?
1)I don't really know another cable provider,and it's kind of boring to do the installation all over again.
2)I really cannot live without Internet. The first thing I do in the morning is have my coffee over my e-mails and job search.
3)When I call to cancel 'cause I'm fed up, they offer all these free months and discount and persuade me that I'm the only one in this city who have this problem with their service.It must be me then? Maybe their Internet works only with U.S.citizens?Anyway, they give me the free month of no-service and put on line to troubleshoot. The Internet comes back. I'm calmed. It disappears again...
In the world of these services providers, the rule of the premium pricing just doesn't apply. The more you play, the more they laugh at you.

Dutch from Bosnia in an Italian cafe in New York

I've bumped into my old Dutch friend B. around the Union Square today. It was one of those movie moments. We met in Turkey seven years ago, I've visited her in Utrecht six years ago, she visited me in Nis and Belgrade several times until three years ago when she came to my wedding!

She's this full of life, adventures, young woman, who has a successful career in a NGO in Bosnia. She loves the Balkans which makes me love her even more. She left her rich, secure motherland to live in a small city, in a country still recovering from wars, and work for Bosniaks' human rights. Very impressive, wouldn't you agree? How many people like that do you know?

Anyway, I didn't really just bump into her today. I knew she was in N.Y.C. She came to visit her friends. We were supposed to meet not far from where we actually did. But it was still a golden moment.

We had one of Cafe Reggio's cappuccinos. They're supposed to be the best in the city. Last time they were, this time they weren't. It all comes down to Barista.

But it was still fun catching up with B., finding out how well she's done for herself and all by herself, and about her plans to leave her financial security for another adventure in Africa or South America, in a year or two.

She's still single and enjoying it. "Good for you," I said. "You should enjoy it! Marriage is difficult no matter how much you love the other person." She nodded.

She doesn't want to settle for anything else than true love. I nodded. She doesn't understand why some people do. Me neither.

Her Bosnian was sparkling! I was stunned! I used to teach Serbian (it's the same language, btw). I know how rare it is for a Westerner to speak such good Slavic language. She was, no doubt, fluent at it's best-she even spoke with just a tiny, cute, Bosnian accent. Very genuine.

So, after our cappuccinos, we checked out DSW, walked to an Internet cafe and all the way to my home. She continued her little New York adventure alone after that, since my legs were not up for any, any more.

Great to see you B. Keep up the good work!

Stardust and Fracture

We had such luck with movies last two nights.
Yesterday, we saw a great thriller with A. Hopkins, called "The Fracture." Great acting, as you can imagine, and a very interesting twist. We found it intriguing, amusing and original. Definitely thumbs up!
And tonight! Tonight we've really enjoyed the "Stardust."It is much, much fresher and imaginative than I expected. I've been wanting to see it even before it came out, for the cast I like. But this fairy tale is original, romantic, seductive, funny and charming. And this comes from someone who watches a lot of movies. Even M. admitted the Stardust was very good. So, it's not a chick flick. It's not a typical fairy tale in any way. And the acting is almost impeccable. For example, I've never seen De Niro in a role like this before...
Let me tell you, this movie made my day brighter. And from our fellow viewers reactions-theirs too!I highly recommend it!

Ruder and Nicer

I know Yoga is good for me. God knows I can use some mind calming. And some exercise. But the way I remember D.C. Yoga is- slow, a lot of breathing and not that difficult. Maybe I was just not doing it right.
Our N.Y.C. Yoga teacher, J. is great! But my whole body hurts now. And not in a good way, you know, like when you do a lot of abs and then your belly is soar the day after. I like that pain. Makes me feel I did something right. And I know I'll be soar from this Yoga everywhere tomorrow. But I'm not exactly sure if my joints, my knees and my bones should hurt as well. Any Yoga experts out there, reading this???
Anyway, I'm still glad I did it. The class was pretty intense. As everything else in N.Y.C.
So, neither M. nor I are big nappers but we had to take a short one after this Yoga class. We had to rest our out-of-shape, non-flexible, broken bodies.
But J. is great, really. She's funny and helpful, and genuinely kind. That's another difference between N.Y. and D.C. There, your Yoga instructor doesn't care as much if you're doing it right or not. That's probably why it was more pleasant to do.
Retailers too seem nicer here, but people in general do not like to say "excuse me" or, God forbid, "I'm sorry" if they step on your foot or hit you with the purse passing at always crowded crosswalks in Midtown. No one cares, really. But in the stores, or in this case, our Yoga and Pilates teachers are very, very nice humans.
Curious, right? Why is that? Is it b/c everything is more expensive here, so, they charge more-they give more? But some of the stores are identical...
As for the rude bystanders and fellow walkers-I just think that New Yorkers don't have time for "I'm sorries."They are always in a hurry. For God' sake, there are so many things to do in this city, why waste your time on a "pardon" to a person you will probably never hit again in your life;-)

Moma, Tabla and W.

Eleven million people live in N.Y.C. There must be 12 million restaurants there. And in the evenings they are all full. Go figure! O, yes, there must be a million tourists in this city on any given day. Half of them were probably in Moma's line this afternoon, trying to enjoy one of the museum's free nights. Free of charge but not free of waiting in line that ends around the block. Nope, we're not that desperate for art.

We were, however, for a good drink. So, instead of enriching our lives with modern art, we had strawberry mohito(?) and a certain orange crush drink in W. Hmmm, yummy. But pricey. It was worth it though.

Last night was gorgeous, so we decided to go for a walk and ended up in this outside area of Tabla, overlooking a park. The restaurant inside was pure art itself. Beautiful decor, rich, oriental, mystic atmosphere. But we decided to stay outside and enjoy the park. While we can. The meal was just o.k. Too spicy for me. But the restaurant's atmosphere was so New York-modern, fancy, sassy.
So, what you can save on free tickets for museums, you will, almost definitely, spend on delicious drinks and amazing restaurants we've seen just by walking around the city. I think New Yorkers only work, work out and go out. What else is there to life?;-)

Hmmm...shopping:)

I went on a shopping spree today. I didn't really spend a lot of money, but that's not what shopping is all about. I did, however, barely manage to brings the bags home. You see, I had (past tense) this gift card I got for my b-day 10 days ago, and I decided to enjoy it today. I can't say I wasn't tempted to use it the same evening I received it in mail, but I've managed to restrain myself. For 10 days. Back then, when I was younger, they had great stuff-for the summer. And this summer is almost gone. So today I got this fabulous fall coat and summerish shirt, which, in my defense, could be worn underneath the suit jacket. And I don't have a satin, red shirt anyway. And I CAN wear it to work. If I ever find one.
So, you see, I spent three hours shopping between the Fifth and Broadway, and all I actually spent was about $20. I love gift cards!
The shopping in New York, as you can imagine, is amazing! I like boutiques, but they are over my budget. So I shop in chainy but classy, mid priced stores like Bebe, VS or Zara. The clothes are affordable but stylish and of good quality.
I know, you have these stores all over the U.S., but they are different in N.Y.C. For example, B. had cookies and water for the customers. I know it's not champagne, but still...
It's also interesting that everything is bigger in N.Y.C.,but people. Except for some of the tourons. Now, they are one thing I don't like about N.Y.C. shopping. Too many people in these huge stores. They must make a fortune! Not the people, the retailers. But you can hear many foreign languages. For example, I've tried 238 coats on today, with the sound of Russian in the background. I was really temped to say to my fellow shopper and Russian looker, that her red was too red. I hope she went for the coat that was not on sale. Sometimes, there are reasons why some things are on sale.

Nostalgia

I really miss home. I haven't been there for seven months now. That would be the longest period since I moved away and the ocean came between my family and me. Even though I'm living in New York City, I miss the most simple things like strolling along the walking street in my hometown, hanging out in outdoor cafes with friends, just having coffee with my family at home, in my pajamas. I miss people knowing me on the street. I miss the feeling that I might bump into someone I haven't seen in ten years, just like that. Because, in the city of 350,000 people, there are only so many places one could hang out.
Serbs reading this would probably think I'm crazy. "New York?! And you miss Nis? Ma daj!(Come on!)"
But I do. That's home and this is where M. and I live right now. It's exciting but it's not home. Home has to be a place where you've lived for more than a typical two to four year tour. Somehow, for me, Belgrade feels like home too. I bloody love that city. I think we(Belgrade and I) just have the corresponding energy. Yes, cities definitely have energy. Paris does, Rome does, New York, Belgrade...
And the New York's energy is pretty compatible with mine so far. It's a huge city but it has a pretty good layout. I also love the walkability.
Here I am, living in New York City for the first time, and all I can dream about is eating a watermelon with my family in our beautiful, cozy backyard in Nis. Silly of me, right?

New York, New York...

I had one of those lazy, rainy, cloudy, sleepy days yesterday. I hated myself for not doing anything useful while M. is working 11-12 hour days. The fact is, if I don't sleep for at least eight hours ( more like nine, actually) I am worthless. Sad but true. And unfortunately, I'm not a napper.
So, after waisting half of the day, I decided to just get out and walk around on my way to the T.S. studio. It's supposed to be a real acting studio, not one of those schemes to get your money. But on my way there, I ended up in this unfamiliar, mostly Arabic neighborhood. Can't say that I was worriless. I obviously was not belonging there. A blond, among dark skinned, dark haired people, mostly men, while Arabic sounding music was filling the streets. Luckily, I was wearing only jeans and a jacket, so I was as inconspicuous as a blond can be. Except for several stares, which I pretended not to see, everything was fine. Off course. I am a little bit paranoid. And it was about only 5 p.m.
Anyway, it made think that maybe I shouldn't just walk everywhere, following the numbers. This is New York City, after all, not Nis or Belgrade. It's the curse of growing up in a safe city where you can walk anywhere, at any time and feel safe, but it's still a city. Not of 11 million people though. The whole Serbia doesn't have that many inhabitants. Or maybe I've just seen way to many "Law and Orders." I should really stop watching that.
T.S. studio turned out to be everything I hoped for. This charming but serious former actor, now director and teacher, really seemed to know what he was talking about.The studio is not as fancy as the one in D.C. but this in New York.Everything is more expensive. I have to get used to that.
So I think I'll leap! Maybe it's meant to be. "Law and Order" is a New York City product.
And if I don' turn our to be the next Streep, at least, I know, I will have fun!And learn more about myself, which is always good.

Rare companion

I was so proud when the vet told me that female orange tabbies are very rare!That was the second time a cat expert has told me that my newest crush is rare! God, I love that!Not that I can love her any more.It is unbelievable how much I love this creature, and I've known her for less than two months?!I think it's the whole "I'm the cutest thing in the world and I totally depend and trust you" act that got me. And the purring and kneading!

She totally got me.We were going to the shelter every other week for four monts looking for our lost cat who I missed so much.So I persuaded M. that I'm so heartbroken and another cat could help with that. And that was true. But it had to be the right cat, not just any.They are all cute, but OUR cat has to do a trick-something to show us that she belongs with us. There was one little black guy that almost got me, but the timing wasn't right.But Nina, Nina got M. too! I was the easy target. It took her, I would say, about two minutes, to make me want her, but M. is tougher. So we got into the room with her, when she started acting like the perfect companion-she was purring, cuddling, playing. And again. I knew I was in love. But I was surprised that M. wanted to fill out the tedious paperwork. I couldn't believe she was ours!No one wanted her until then.What's wrong with this world?Don't they see what I see?Or am I really from Mars, as I sometimes feel.

I was literally counting days until I could take her home. They were so long. But when I got her into the carrier and then car, she was calm and trusting. What a creature!Did she know she could trust me? Or her instincts just told her:"Oh, yeah, I got this one to feed me and clean my potty for the rest of my life."Was she right!

p.s.She just sleeping next to the computer as I write. She loooveees deleting my posts. So, I actually wrote this one differently. This is Nina's version:)

Yoga on the roof

We had an amazing new experience the other day. As if moving to Manhattan isn't an amazing, new experience all out of itself. We had Yoga on the roof at dusk overlooking Manhattan! What an experience! As the darkness was falling on us, and the city lit, we were struggling to stay in one of numerous "straighten your body-calm your mind" positions, trying to enjoy the incredible view. And we did!Highly recommended!

Apres Vous...

M. stumbled upon this charming french movie last night, starring the guy we stumbled upon in Paris in 2003-Daniel Auteuil. I only saw Auteuil's back 4 years ago. But I loved the movie. And the Rotten Tomatoes gives it only 55 percent?!Hence, I don't trust them anymore.
Auteuil plays the guy who saves another from committing a suicide and then feels responsible for him. He meets the girl who left his protege, and they fell in love. In a nutshell.But it's funny and cute,and very romantic. Just the way I like it. And almost painful to watch as Auteuil's character's out humans himself with the generosity and altruism. And as Matt pointed out, Auteuil is vicariously happy through his new found meaning of life. Also, the language and the land-it made me miss it and crave to go back. And brush on my French.
You have to see it!

U.S.foreign policy toward Balkans

In 1996, a U.S. State Department official met with Adem Demaci, the main political representative of the fledgling Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic Albanian guerrilla force formed in 1996 to drive the Serbian authorities from the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and achieve independence. Demaci had advocated Kosovo’s secession since the 1950s, when he hoped to split Kosovo from Yugoslavia and attach it to Enver Hoxha’s Stalinist Albania. Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito threw him in jail three separate times for a total of 18 years for advocating a greater Albania. By 1996, Demaci and the KLA had grown impatient with Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova’s strategy of passive resistance and favored winning independence by violent means, pointing to the example of Bosnia, which in December 1995 had its independence confirmed with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The State Department official warned Demaci that Bosnia already had paid an incalculable price—over three years of a devastating war—for its independence, according to the same official. Demaci stared intently back at the U.S. diplomat through his heavy glasses and stated ominously, “If there are rivers of blood, if there are rivers of blood, we will be independent.”
Three years later, Madeleine Albright, President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of State, had to hunt Demaci down in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, of all places, to lobby him to persuade Hashim Thaci, the KLA’s young political leader, to sign the Rambouillet Accords, knowing that Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic would never sign it, and thereby provide the United States and NATO the pretext to bomb Serbia, according to the State Department official. NATO’s war thus was given the green light by a man described at the time by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer as “a woodsman from Kosovo” and, most ironically, a hardcore Stalinist. After 78 days of NATO airstrikes, Milosevic agreed to withdraw Serbian security forces from Kosovo and allow the U.N. and NATO forces to administer Kosovo, until the province’s final status is resolved.

Me