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Category Archives: work

yes, I hate sewing!

26 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by azahar in clothing, clothing biz, home, work

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

clothing, sewing

Why is this concept so strange?

Anyhow, it shouldn’t come as a surprise since I have said it before, as well as often. I mean, is a chef expected to enjoy gardening, an architect bricklaying, a winemaker whining … hmmm. Well, you get the idea.

In fact I’ve been sewing for about 40 years now and have never really enjoyed it. Though I do enjoy the results, because I’m actually very good at it. But there are people who sew much faster and better than I do and, frankly, I prefer to leave it to them when I can. The thing I do love are the materials and colours and turning them into something lovely. But I am far too much of an impatient perfectionist to take any joy in stitching up each seam, gathering, top-stitching, hemming and what-have-you. Every time I make a garment I sweat blood over every stitch, my shoulders end up in knots and I feel totally exhausted.

But it is that time of year once again when I look through my summer wardrobe and go … shit. So this past weekend I cut out a few things. I’m being practical rather than worrying about “street image” and starting off with a couple of comfy linen dresses and two light cotton nightdresses. You know, in case the next PET scan doesn’t come out as hoped and I end up housebound again this summer. And as I suspected, it’s been hell. But hey, I’m going to end up with some new clothes that didn’t end up costing me anything but time.

As you can see, Loki has been lending a helpful (not!) paw…

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random rambling update…

20 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by azahar in blogging, cats, health & happiness, home, life stuff, work

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

update

It’s Feria week here in Sevilla, which means all but one of my students has cancelled their classes. And tomorrow is a public holiday. So things are a bit slow. Not having my visit with Teuchter to look forward to (she and J would have been here Thursday) is still a bit sad, and I also won’t be needing the use of Manolo’s apartment in Málaga on Saturday. And no yoga this week! Due to illness (Mon) holiday (Wed) and Feria (Fri). Seriously, my gym has cancelled all their classes from Thursday – Saturday for Feria. Only in Sevilla!

Today I am finally feeling better after a rather nasty cold that suddenly hit on Friday afternoon. I haven’t  had such a bad cold in years and haven’t felt that sick since I was on chemo. That comparison may seem strange but what struck me was how feeling sick now comes with a lot of emotional baggage, especially to do with feelings of vulnerability. And then I found out that one of the most stalwart members on the Colon Club forum died, which kind of hit me hard. That old “walking time bomb” feeling just never goes away.

But while I am on the mend, poor Azar is still unwell. Not exactly like his last “mystery illness” in that he hasn’t gone all floppy and stopped eating. In fact, he is eating quite a lot. But he is doing the gagging and licking his lips thing again and has been throwing up quite a bit, mostly on the soft furnishings. Makes going to sleep with him on my pillow somewhat unsettling, though he does give enough warning so that the last two nights I’ve been able to grab him and hold his head over the edge of the bed before he heaved. Not great for getting a decent night’s sleep though. Anyhow, wondering whether to take him to the vet’s this afternoon or not. I’m tempted to wait it out another day as it may just be a bad case of hairballs, but tomorrow is a holiday. Advice please!

Been quite enjoying my new part-time job doing the social media thang, but I definitely need more “face time” with my client in order to do what I want with everything I’ve set up, especially as this is a trial month. I personally don’t feel pleased with the content and have a lot of half-done ideas waiting for either approval or more information, but I really want to make it work. I like this person a lot, I like the project and the subject matter. I just hope she allows us time to get a good working routine going.

In other work-related news, got my first (paid) tapas tour coming up next week, and I am also working on a couple of special tasting evenings based on specific foods. And someone who wrote me a Fan Email about Sevilla Tapas the other day offered to hire me to do … something. We just need to figure out what. Not as weird as it may sound, and I quite like this guy so I hope something works out.

How are things going with you?

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busy!

14 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by azahar in blogging, hope, internet, work

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

social media, work

And loving it!

I’m working on the laptops even more than before and the time flies by. In between I get to the gym for yoga and also do my far-too-few English classes. Getting this new job doing the social media thang has really changed my life! In the sense that I am doing work that I am really enjoying, and I feel a lot more focused. Guys, this is just the break I’ve been needing. Especially as this fits into the category of “work that is exactly what I’d want to do anyhow when I get out of bed in the morning” … which is something I’ve been looking for all my life.

But it’s also important to me that I don’t stop my daily posts here. Doing this was something that really kept me going while I was sick after ops and on chemo. My personal scrapbook. My home. And it’s also where I get to visit with you guys. So, hasta mañana!

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the week that was

11 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by azahar in blogging, cats, change, health & happiness, home, hope, internet, tapas, twitter, work

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

cats, internet, social media, tapas, work

Since last Sunday’s multi-tasking az post lots has been going on. The best news is that I’ve been hired for that part-time social media job I told you about, and I am so thrilled about that. We had a four-hour meeting on Friday and got a lot done. My new client is happy with my work and this is very good news indeed.

Other news is a bit up & down. One of my four students has told me they have to stop classes mid-May because of work obligations. Nog has managed to at least pay his share of the rent this month, but I’ll have to pay for the bills and food. I sure hope things pick up for him next month. Then what was supposed to be a quick vaccination job at the vet’s  on Friday ended up costing 100 euros!  Okay, part of that was stocking up on Azar’s special prescription diet food. But it turned out that Loki’s feline herpes is acting up again, which meant getting some very expensive medicated eye gel for him. But that should be it now until he gets his balls cut off in July. For the record, Loki gets just as hysterical in the cat cage as Azar does. Go figure.

The happy news of the week was Azar’s 15th birthday. He’s been enjoying eating asparagus ever since (tis the season) and is looking very fit. Other great news is that I booked my first tapas tour! Well, the first paid one – god knows I’ve been doing them for years. So that’ll happen in a couple of weeks. Oh, and Manolo (of Málaga apt fame) called to tell me about a seminar being put on by the chamber of commerce about marketing online next Thursday and asked if I wanted to go with him – reckon that should be very interesting and will fit right in with my new job. Seems like I am making connections all over the place these days, so who knows? Maybe those five jobs will start coming together after all. It certainly feels like things are opening up at last.

How was your week?

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multi-tasking az is back!

04 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by azahar in cancer, computers, internet, language, life stuff, work

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

cancer, life, work

Things are getting back to “normal” here again after the annual upheaval that is Semana Santa. Part of me really likes how everybody’s routines are totally disrupted during this week, even if they don’t attend any of the processions. I know that if I didn’t live next to the cathedral I wouldn’t bother going out to see them (though I did the first few years I lived here) and I know I would miss that. Sure, it’s a week of unpaid holidays and getting out my front door can sometimes be difficult because of the crowds, but it’s also kind of refreshing to have things shaken up a bit. As usual, this year all of my students (all = 4) cancelled classes for the week, but I ended up working more than ever…

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