This to the one who touched my soul

It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m traveling on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in turning on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An’ it ain’t no use in turning on your light, babe
I’m on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was something you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talking anyway
So don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in calling out my name
Like you never did before
It ain’t no use in calling out my name
I can’t hear you anymore
I’m thinking and wondering all the way down the road
I once loved a man, a child I’m told
I give him my heart but he wanted my soul
But don’t think twice, it’s all right

I’m walking down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word
So I’ll just say fare thee well
I ain’t saying you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kind of wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right*

* Lyrics modified by me, the original is by Bobby Dylan, of course.

The Perfect Valentine. No, not that one.

To tell you the truth, I couldn't care less about Valentine's Day. I am not in favor or against this "holiday", I just simply do not seem to care that much about it, probably because I come from a country where it is much less common than, say, in the US.

However, there is one Valentine I can't seem to get enough of - Chet Baker singing My Funny Valentine, that is (by the way, I have no idea why I prefer this version to the countless other ones). I am madly in love with the lyrics, the lines reflect true obsession and adoration, the best word to describe them is "musings" - and isn't it what we all want, to find our muse in life, who might not be perfect in the classical way but just perfect enough for us, someone so mesmerizing it's sending shivers down our spine, someone we could look at and listen to for eternity and never get bored... just like I never get bored of listening to My Funny Valentine.

The voice that can't be erased.

Whitney Houston was one of the most important voices of the 80s and the 90s who produced, along with many, many other hits, one of the most important songs of music history - I Will Always Love You. This record, along with the movie The Bodyguard, marked the childhood of people my age. I still listen to it quite often and I am always amazed by the voice Whitney had, that enormous talent, that way she could perform, filled with emotions, making you feel uncannily close to what she was singing about and to Whitney herself.

Of course after a few years she started to have problems but the world never ceased to believe she would one day stand up again and give us more and more songs that easen our pain and make our lives better.

Sadly, now we know she will never be able to return to us - she is gone forever, but her voice will stay with us forever.

The Wind of Change.

One of the biggest changes in my life was when 2,5 years ago, at 21, I left my country behind and moved to Spain. I immediately fell in love with Madrid and am proud to have called it home for all this time. But no holiday can last more than 2 years (just to loosely quote Kundera) and although my time here was anything but a standstill (I quickly went from student to working girl and have had three different jobs since then), I did start to feel it was time for something different. It has been my dream for a very long time to once live in Barcelona and as of the 1st of March I will be living that fantasy.

Of course it means I have to step away from many things I love here in Madrid - friends, Gran Vía and the world's best metro network - and I will also have to quit my job but I believe it is worth it. Many people would say I am crazy to give up a great position in this time of crisis and to opt for trying my luck in another city and I can't say all these thoughts haven't passed my mind. They have. Many, many times. But the thing is, I am still very young and have arrived to a point in my life when I know that I won't have this opportunity ever again.



If I don't change now, I might get even more friends who tie me to this city, I might not have my parents to support me if I fail and I might fall into the endless circle of routine where changing everything just sounds too much. I might have grown up in a different country but I definitely became an adult here in Madrid - I learnt how to live alone, how to take care of and stand up for myself and how to work in the adult world. I will always be grateful for this experience and I plan to come back many times to relive a little this short but important period of my life.

However, right now I prefer to look forward. I am excited about moving to the city I have always wanted to live in and to search new opportunities that are more and more related to what I really want to do: writing and/or movies.

Future might look frightening at times, but I'd rather regret something I had the courage to do but failed than not regret doing something I always desired to do but was too scared to. After all, "Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don't even try."

The icon.

I think everyone will agree with me if I say 60 years is a lot of time. Now imagine having the same job for six decades. Today marks the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession.There is no doubt that the Queen is one of the last 100 years' most famous, most iconic and most influential personalities and it is no wonder that she is one of the most criticized as well, especially now when the Royal Family has to find its way to modernity (with last year's Royal Wedding it seems they are on the good path).

As the press became more and more aggressive all over the world, it was inevitable that they start to follow every step the royals take. However, after surviving the 90s, one of the lowest points of the monarchy's popularity, Elizabeth is now maybe more supported than ever.Her image might not be impeccable, but it is mostly due to the fact that the Royal Family was not ready to share matters they considered private (such as the death of Lady Diana) with the public. Elizabeth is both a discreet person who takes her duties very seriously and the icon of an empire who always has a smile for her people. She was Great Britain's hope after World War II, a few decades later she led them to the new century and she is now a queen everyone respects and though movements in favor of independence will probably never cease to exist, most of her people wish to see her right where she is: on the throne, for many years to come.

In memoriam.

We've spent many years now in this economic crisis and I have seen the damages it caused in various aspects of the life we had considered normal - I saw people lose their jobs, I saw companies I liked close their doors and people close to me ending up in a difficult situation but what happened today was something I have never even considered possible.

The rumors that Hungary's national airline, Malév might go bakrupt have been circulating for quite some time now but I kind of put my head in the sand. Then Spanish airline Spanair ceased its operations and we heard Malév might be next. I remember thinking, "it can't happen. They won't let it happen. It's impossible."

But my fear became reality this morning at 6 a.m. when the airline announces they would no longer fly.

You might wonder why I find all this so shocking but the thing is, Malév was something to be proud of, a respectable airline with a great past and the fact that after 66 years of service it ceased to exist is a big deal for a country that now has no airline it can call its own.

Although I am sure pretty soon another national airline will be born, it will never be the same. Malév started right after World War II - their planes flew through communism and its end, the rare post-communist 90s and the new era and survived it all. And now, all of a sudden, it all had to come to an end - this is what saddens me so much. Losing Malév is like losing a mentor, losing a rock upon which we all could stand to see a little bit of the world, even when the times were rough.