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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Something Old, Something New

Hello My Little Turtle Doves,

I know that it's 2010 and I am all about brining new things into my life: new place to live, new job, new friends, maybe new relocation, new love, whatever this year has to offer. But at the same time there are some old things that I don't ever want to let go of.

So I am really happy right now because I got my old pictures from my time in Barcelona back. A couple of years ago, my Dell laptop, the one I took with me to Spain crapped out on me. I got my files out, but the storage it was on then crapped out on me again this year. So I begged and pleaded with one of my coworkers to help me out, and he did. And now I will be smarter about transferring them to this laptop and backing them up.

The picture of me below was taken at work. I worked at the Barcelona World Trade Center as a total phone whore telemarketer. The work was demanding, but after 5pm rolled around I was free as a bird, and I could go to the beach, hang out with friends or teach English, or makeout with boys. Weekends were free also, so I would sometimes take weekend trips, or just sleep in all the time.

One thing I never got to mention in this blog, which I was writing in while I was there, was that our office had a beautiful view of the ports, and not only that but we could watch the cruise ships come in. Sometimes you would see people suntanning naked. Luckily I didn't but a couple of my bosses did. I remember one of the guys standing on his chair to get a better view.

But this picture was taken during my lunch break. I worked with a few Argentinians, and we bonded fast because: 1.) We were all homesick 2.) They loved the US and I love Argentina 3.) We loved to bitch about our job. One of the guys took my picture here, and notice I am barefoot. It was nice to eat lunch in the sun .



There are a couple of other things I wanted to mention................

Above is that last picture I took of my Oma. This was our last full day together, as I got on a plane the next day to come back to the SF Bay Area. We did errands that day, she took me to the Festung, a famous Austrian fortress in Salzburg, and she bought me Almdudler ( a softdrink only served in Austria and Germany) along with Apple Struedel.  That struedel was so good, that I had two pieces that day with Oma's blessing, of course ;)

I was just looking to my pics and realized that on that day before we went to the Festung, that she also took
me on a boatride on the Salzach river. In the picture below, you can see the Festung (Austrian fortress on a hill) in the background. I also realized that before we went up to the Festung to eat Struedel, she took me to a famous Austrian cafe. I don't remember what I had there, probably coffee.





I am writing about this day with my Oma, because it was our last day I got to spend with her. On our last full day, I also got to see this...........................



It was sunny, and then all of a sudden rainy. But at the end of that I saw the most beautiful rainbow. This was taken in Oma's neighborhood.

It was like this was a sign to things to come. I had been in Barcelona for a year, and Austria for a week, and was ready to go back to California. Oma took me to the airport, and said goodbye. It was a long good bye, and we hugged a lot. She and her beloved Tony stayed with me the whole time, and was there to hug and kiss me before I walked away for good. At the time, I was thinking "don't worry, I'll be fine, you don't have to stand around the whole time." But looking back, I am glad she did. Sometimes you really never know when your last goodbye is.

 What I didn't realize was that it would be the last good bye for us in person. She passed away in August of 2006. But I came back to Austria to say my last good bye.

It has been almost four years, but her rainbow still lingers in my heart.

So that is all for now my little feathery friends. So nice to have these pictures and memories back where I can see them.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

You spoke such a true thing when you said "we really never know when our last goodbye is"

I can feel something when I read that.

Secretia

Bathwater said...

Oh I'd get nothing done in that office!

PorkStar said...

awww that was an amazing post.

I have the same pic of the Salzburg fortress, one of the most awesome places I've ever been to.

That reminds me too, while at that castle and I feel on my ass and down the stairs... all by myself.

Classy.

Ileana said...

What a beautiful and bittersweet post. Love those photos of you and Oma. I'm glad you got that full day with her and btw, that rainbow is just amazing.

Danielle said...

Beautiful pictures. I miss my grandma too.

dadshouse said...

Beautiful pics. I would like to see Barcelona someday.

LYN said...

WHAT A TOUCHING POST...MADE THIS TOUGH 'OL BROAD TEAR UP...

Organic Meatbag said...

Very lovely post, S...and not to ruin things by saying this, but your new header photo? Hubba hubba! Hahaha

JStar said...

This is sad, but its good to remmeber the good times like this

Shelly Rayedeane said...

Hello little feathery friend. Lol.

Thank you for sharing the wonderful story and the beautiful pictures.

I love the new header picture btw.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post. The pictures are lovely, and your love for your Oma is amazing. <3

Anonymous said...

Senorita
You can backup pictures to online sites like flickr,smugmug, picasa web etc. Some of them are free some have nominal annual fees. That way it is not on your computer.

Deine Mutter said...

Vielen Dank, liebe Sandra! Danke fuer den wunderschoenen post. Und danke fuer die Bilder, besonders das von Oma. She was so happy when she became a grandma, and always signed her letters - even to me - with "Omi". She relished having grandkids, and you being the first, you always had that special place in her heart, no matter how far away you were.
Thank you for making her happy.
Lots of love,

Mom