Bubble Baths and Rollercoasters

Here comes the already traditional post. I have to say, I love these ones - They make me think about how quickly things can change, how much I learned, and how much I have to look forward to this upcoming year. Song of the Year - Nina Simone's Ain't Got No, I Got Life The Main Accomplishments: I did travel quite a bit this year, and visited: Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna, Rome, Florence and Pisa, Subotica, Copenhagen, London, and then back to Lisbon for Christmas;  I don’t know how many concerts went by, but I am sure they were more than 10, which is kinda awesome;  I went by myself for Open Mic nights, met great people, and had the most fulfilling night ever singing a song by Mr. Bob Dylan. Each of these nights was wonderful, each of them unique;  I had the privilege to play and sing with amazing musicians in the Akvárium Klub, for more than 1000 people. Unforgettable experience!;  I had great dinner nights with the girls, party nights with th...

"It is a risk to love. What if it doesn't work out? Ah, but what if it does." Peter McWilliams

These last few weeks, I played around with my past. Probably a little bit more than I should - I took a big, even if calculated, risk. For a moment, I thought I could go back. I wondered if I wanted to. Back to an old love, an old story, an old life. I also knew that it could also mean, the old mistakes. So I found myself wondering: Were the reasons why I left still there? The reasons why it didn't work out? So, these were the questions I asked myself: - Which is the story that I want to tell? - What kind of character do I want to play? - Which is the song that I want to sing, proudly, by the end of the day? I already know that it is up to me - And only me - To tell my story in whichever way I want to;To live my life the way I deserve; To be the hero of my journey. So tonight, I decided - No, this is not giving up, this was never giving up - This is me simply - and finally -  moving on. ---- Nestas semanas que passaram, brinquei um pouco com o passado. Provavelmente...

Today is a day to decide. To go or to stay, to buy or to sell, to take a chance or not to take it... And from everything Budapest has taught me, one of the most important ones is that to take the chance is always the best option. Preferably, with our eyes closed... And a wide-spread smile! ---------------- Hoje é dia de decidir. Ir ou ficar, comprar ou vender, sorrir ou chorar, arriscar ou não arriscar... E de todas as coisas que Budapeste me ensinou... Uma das mais importantes foi que arriscar é sempre a melhor a opção. De preferência, de olhos fechados... E um sorriso no rosto!

Quero esse amor impossível, intenso, apaixonante, suicida, louco, jack-nicholson-voando-sobre-um-ninho-de-cucos-iano, um amor que não dá tempo para respirar, frágil, escorregadio, macio e suave como seda... Quero-o temporal , com prazo de validade e impróprio para consumo, quero-o fresco e fofo mas sobretudo para consumir de preferência nos próximos 15 dias - Com muita, muita urgência. Quero esse amor em doses pequenas, afogueantes, miniaturas amostrais. Quero-o só uma colherzinha de cada vez, uma cheiradela, um toque, à experiência, um menu de degustação de edição limitada. Quero esse amor só para mim, e quero-o já, mas quero-o de pouca duração e até posso guardar um bocadinho de recordação - Sabe sempre bem ter algo para relembrar - Por isso deixa-me uma frase simbólica, cliché e envergonhada, um postal, um souvenir, deixa-me isso antes de ires e desapareceres da minha casa, do meu telemóvel, do meu facebook, do meu radar de visão, do sinal do meu GPS, e nunca te esqueças: ...

Yesterday, back to Budapest and after Barcelona, I thought it would be a good back-to-business idea to go to an Open Mic... Well it was for sure a good idea, but not so much back-to-business! I once again felt incredibly happy and fulfilled, up there with my guitar and my voice... A good friend, lots of fellow musicians and a very - very - chill vibe. Today? Back to work I guess. Powerpoints, excel sheets and presentations. Although I have to say, I do like the presentations! :)  And so I can't help but wonder - Who could fit, by my side, in two such different worlds?

This wasn't a new city. Wasn't a new country, not even a new culture to take in. In fact, what made this trip so amazing was that it felt so much like home. I haven't been home almost 5 months now, and it's been getting hard to stop the nostalgia associated to food, language, or simply an old friend popping on my Facebook newsfeed... But this weekend, in Barcelona, I was invaded with memories from many different periods of my life. I got to reminisce about my first college years, my boyfriend and its group of friends, and great dinners and double dates... My Erasmus times, when my friends visited me in my first month in Brussels... And then one of my best friends in Lisbon, with whom I shared so many things - And hopefully one day will get to share so many more! This was a haunting weekend with deep emotions and connections. Three days passed, and I'm still trying to focus again on my daily tasks at work. It was a mixture of homesickness and anxiousness about ...

It's great to meet up with old friends. It's great, but at the same time, deeply disturbing. Sometimes, not even friends. Just a random person who, once upon a time, was so present in our lives, that we were just used to her being there - Not thinking, for a moment, that they would be gone one day. Last night I had a dinner with an old friend. I missed him a lot, but more than that, I miss the times we shared together, the group of friends which wasn't even exactly mine - I was more of a guest who came and went... I remembered the weekends in Salvaterra, the double dates, the sleepovers and some of my first guitar nights... I remembered that period of my life, so many years ago, when I was sure that everything would be OK, and the person I was with would give me everything I ever needed - Love. It's great to meet up with old friends. It's great, but they have that disconcerting ability to shake us up, take us from our balance, and then get up, say goodnight an...

Every year I write a post about the last year’s resolutions and how they went through, or not, and the ones for the year that is starting. Why do I keep doing this? Usually it brings me a good feeling of accomplishment, along with a whole “what was I thinking” moment. It gives me a true vision about what I can, can’t do, and all the things I can achieve if I put my mind into it. It also made me realize how quickly life can change and how we should embrace that change, and be flexible with ourselves: Just because I didn’t do everything I wanted to, doesn’t mean I didn’t have a hell of a year! So, this year, I successfully wrote two songs from beginning to end, sang live 4 times (not counting karaoke), had many karaoke nightswith&without Live Band Karaoke in Budapest, and definitely drank more wine than tequila! I had lovely wine nights, lunches, dinners and brunches with amazing friends.I got into a gym (several actually) and went regularly for three months, plus started to run...