Choosing life's rollercoasters ... and enjoying the ride

Hello friends,

Yes, I'm back online after 10 days ( - in words TEN days - ) away from the internet. I took my kids on holiday up north in Germany near the Baltic Sea where my mum and my siblings live. We had some HOT holiday days with temperatures reaching 40°C and beyond on some days but luckily there were options to cool down like swimming in the sea or riding the log flume in the Hansapark theme park in Sierksdorf.

My two younger kids really made the most of the day, riding all the rides several times and I joined them on most of them. Even though the log flume and the "good old Nessie" - my first big rollercoaster 30 years ago - are still fun, the "free fall tower" is a bit of a let down for a bungy/ee jumper (great views though) the top attraction is - of course - the new kataplektor ride "Curse of Novgorod" (www.kataplektor.de) somewhere between (hi)story, house of horrors and a hell of a rollercoaster. Some of us enjoy those rides, others don't - is it the adrenalin rush, the "danger" even though you know you're perfectly safe?

When life throws us off course and onto an emotional rollercoaster, don't we have the same choice i.e. to embark it or not? to enjoy the ride or get off? to know that in reality we are safe and that this ride only lasts seconds or minutes at the most and that then we have a choice to keep riding or looking at other options? I know NOW (and yes, hindsight is 20/20) that I should have started going to theme parks again a lot earlier and CHOOSE the fun rides and just ditch the crappy emtional rollercoasters the once-upon-a-time-loved ones send us on.

Loving life and sending hugs,

Mel

The hypnotic attraction of food & drink in the presence of other stimuli

... or how to avoid stains caused by other people's sausages, chips, cigarettes (Yes, the non-smoking in public policy is not yet where I'd like it to be) and red red wi-ine ...

What a weekend it has been! Neustadt has been host to Rhineland-Palatinate Day 2010, more or less the whole town has been blocked for traffic, every car park transformed into a stage of some kind, thousands of visitors, loads of bands, activities and even more .... food stalls.

Ok, all these visitors need to be fed and watered (or rather wined in this area) and not everybody is lucky enough to live within a stone-throw of events (We've been "camping" at the new place since Friday) but why is it that people need to have their sausages DURING a concert and attempt to walk through the masses with them? I was really enjoying some "easy snapping" happy reggae with UB40 live on Friday night apart from constantly dodging people whose mostly greasy food items came dangerously close to me. What is so hypnotic about food stalls that they keep attracting people even when you can - for the limited time a concert lasts - do other things like enjoy the music and - heaven forbid! - move to it?

UB40 have been around for a good thirty years, I remembered them from way-back-then, my teenage days in the 1980ies and honestly had no idea what they were doing nowadays and that they have a new album out. It was a great show on Friday night, good, fun, feel-good music and for me seeing and listening to Red Red Wine live went full-circle, having seen the original performed by Neil Diamond Open Air in 1984 (just after it had been a hit for UB40). Another memory to add to the special pile ...

Big fireworks tonight to end the celebrations after public viewing of the football in the market square and elsewhere and tomorrow the town will turn back to normal. Have a great week! Hugs, Mel

The concepts of in-time and through-time and simply never assume anything!

Hello world, it's me again, still from my old armchair in my old home. Some of you may know that as of yesterday I have rented a flat in town. It's in an ooooooooooooold house, 1789 or something like that, no straight walls, some of the doors quite low, you get the picture (no, it's not THAT bad, this pic is from www.bilderkiste.de). Those of you who've seen the exposè - the photos were cleverly taken to make the rooms look more spacious than they actually are. The entrance is through the back and up some ancient wooden stairs. Once could say we are really well hidden. Nevertheless, it's going to be MINE i.e. for me and the kids and for the first time in twenty years I am completely in charge of everything. This is quite a daunting thought, on the other hand I also have the ultimate power of decision making of what goes where or if it enters "my home" at all.

So, how does all this connect to this post's title? Well, the flat was supposed to be ready for me yesterday (first day of rental) and I had simply assumed the official handing-over-of-the-keys would take place then. I had been chasing the landlord to arrange time since Thursday but only talked to his answering machine. Yesterday I finally drove by the house (not his, that was plan B) and found the current tenants still in there, right in the middle of moving. Funnily enough it had been them who had wanted to move out earlier since they already had a new place and didn't want to pay twice for too long. And again, I had simply assumed it would be empty and ready to be handed over on the day.

This very friendly family apparently has a different concept of time, the one called living "in time", being in the here and now and not too bothered about dates or deadlines. I wasn't too bothered about them still being in (a little surprised though), I was glad there was someone who could give me the keys because I had arranged for a technician to come on Monday morning to install phone, tv and - most importantly - internet connection!

As a through-time person I would have hated to cancel that appointment at short notice - the same way I would hate to be stood up by someone not arriving (vaguely) on time or not at all. So I'll be there tomorrow morning between 8 and 12 hoping for the best. And yes, the landlord rang a little while ago and asked if everything had worked out (yeah, surprisingly it did - I managed to find some keys) and if I had moved in (How without keys and the family still being in there??) Oh well, different maps of the world and communication lost in translation. We'll get there somehow, sometime. I'll keep you posted, have a great week!

Why do household appliances fall apart on Mother's Day?

Hello everyone, it's Sunday again and Sunday seems to have established itself as my blog-day ... at least for now ;) Last week was very busy at work, so this weekend I've just been lazy - as lazy as I'd ever want to be - and on top of that, it's Mother's Day here in Germany (and also in the US I believe), so my lovely children prepared breakfast, lunch and soon dinner too (ok, I had to tidy up after them and coax the dishwasher into working one last time). More about that later ... first of all - Happy Mother's Day to all mothers on this planet, wherever you are and if this day is celebrated in your country today or not, whatever your age or however your old your "babies" are, whether you are a birth, foster or step-mom (and grandmas included too) ... you are treasured and valued, not only today but 365 days a year! My mum is 81, so I'm blessed to still have her around, albeit 700 km away and only talked to her on the phone.

I was out food-shopping with my girls last night and at the florists in the supermarket mall there was the longest queue I'd ever seen there. It's surely a great business day for florists! (Pic from http://www.bilderkiste.de/ and NOT representing the local florist)

Ok, I wasn't all idle all weekend (can one ever be?) - Yesterday I did the laundry (not unusual I hear you say) ... in the BATHTUB! Yes, the washing machine has retired itself, soaked the launddry and now refuses to work ... and all this just weeks from me moving into my flat for which I would have bought a new one anyhow. That's not all, the dishwasher it's also on its last leg as are several other things. I have the feeling this house and its contents want to tell me: MOVE OUT, make yourself a new life!

Better go and see what son is up to in the kitchen (he's making spaghetti and tomato sauce, I fear the kitchen might look like a crime scene). I wonder who'll do the dishes afterwards ;) They grew up with the idea of a dishwasher, actually washing up was a game when in a holiday appartment. I wonder how this "game" idea will last. Oh well, even if I have my arms in the sink tonight (I'd rather sink into someone's arms, but hey, we'll get there) - they are real treasures and I LOVE them!

Hello world!

Hello everyone. My name is Mel A., I am not a Spice Girl and this is my first venture into the blog world. At 39 I'm at a turning point in my life, both personally and professionally and jumping right into my new life, or rather free falling like my friend Jan just said. Yeah, this is actually me - last September at Bray Lake near Maidenhead, UK, jumping off a 300ft crane. There is nothing quite like it and I have to warn you - it's higly addictive!

Why did I call this blog "Mesmerizing Mel"? First of all I'd like to thank Steve for the idea, secondly of course Franz Anton Mesmer, the original "mesmerizer". I had mentioned a change of profession and this is also going to be the main theme of this blog: I'm currently studying and training for a hypnotherapy diploma which I greatly enjoy. Therefore I'd like to share with you my thoughts and ideas on and experiences with hypnotherapy and hypnosis and what is going on in this world. Self-hypnosis has helped me greatly to overcome a personal crisis, but that will be a topic for another post. For now, take care and have a great week!

Mel x