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Who princesss........Let us have it!

Dreamgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
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Ok missy......here it is! Your very own thread!!!!!!!!! I''d honestly LOVE to hear more about you. I feel that we have a lot in common and I enjoy reading your posts. Not to mention that sweet dollface puppy you just got!
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You are too funny, DG!

Well, what do you want to know?

Actually, okay, I''ll start this thread on my new obsession. Food.

I''ve started becoming really obsessed with my food. Not how much I eat, but what I eat. I''m interested in the quality of the ingredients and where the food comes from. I''m starting to move towards eating locally and as organically as possible. This has come to light recently because I started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and so many of the things she talks about in the book are issues I''ve had. I''ve lived in several countries/cultures and one of the things I''ve noticed missing here is a food culture. So I''ve decided that I need to get involved in my local food culture! I''m (im)patiently waiting for farmer''s markets to open, and decided that I should learn how to make my own cheese.

What''s slightly hilarious about all of this is that I''m about as far from the farm as a person could get. I hate dirt and bugs, and BF''s family likes to have a good laugh at me every now and then (they live on a farm in central VA). But fresh foods are important, you know? I also want to start a garden when I move into a house and bake my own bread. Mmmmm....bread.

But really, what do you want to know? It''s much easier to answer questions than it is to just think of random things to talk about. Otherwise I''ll start to feel self-involved (even though this thread is supposed to be about me, haha).
 
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I''m pretty fussy about my food too. And funny that you say you aren''t a ''farm'' girl per say but your boyfriend''s family has a farm. Sort of the same with me! I grew up in Denver but my boyfriend''s Grandma lives on a farm. My boyfriend has spent many a days on Grandma''s farm....lol (as in many summers) He isn''t a cowboy or anything like that. She has a farm in Minnesota...

You''ve lived in several countries!? Well, I''d like to know more about that! Feel free to self indulge......that''s what this thread is for!
 
I''d like to know more about your pets!
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My BF grew up on a farm too! Whenever we go up to visit his parents we do all of the ''country'' activities: ATVing, dirt biking, x-country skiing, etc...much different than my suburban upbringing!!

Your new food obsessions sounds really neat! I can''t even imagine making my own cheese...I love the stuff too much to have the patience to make it! I like hearing about favourites (movies, food, things to do, etc.) and people stories (how''d you meet your SO?) and pet stories...so please share!!
 
Good for you! I am on a "local" kick, too.

Where all have you lived, if you don''t mind sharing?

Also, you live alone now, correct? How are you liking that? And do you like your job?
 
Hi Princess!
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How old are you?

Where are you from?

What do you do?

How long have you been dating your SO?

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Yo! S!

Have you heard of the Slow Food Movement? I think you''d be interested...
 
ok, what''s slow food movement???
 
Twinnie twinsy lalalala twinzer yay! I love this thread.
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Well mostly it''s people/chefs/restaurateurs who will buy only local produce and products because they are trying to stave off the usage of preservatives and rotten or not top quality foods. They figure if it''s from nearby, it''s fresher and will taste better. There is a big advocate for it in California, I can''t remember her name off the top of my head though. I''ll think about it more.

One thing about it though is that instead of dreaming up crazy dishes with foods from all over the world, you have to be more imaginative and come up with dishes that are composed of food grown locally which is harder.

(I mean, we''d never have seafood here in NM!)
 
Wow! I go away for a little while, and suddenly there are all sorts of questions to answer! Hahaha.

Okay, going in order:

Living in several countries. Well, I''ve lived in the States, Thailand, Singapore, Panama, and Spain. Okay, somehow that doesn''t look like a lot. I love to travel, and the only thing I really make an effort to collect is stamps for my passport. So far I''ve been to Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Austria, Hungary, England, Italy, France, Denmark, and Morocco (plus places I''ve lived, obviously). I think that''s the complete list. I love living in new places and experiencing new cultures. I feel more comfortable when I''m uncomfortable, if that makes sense. I like being forced to learn new languages, and make my way through cultures that do not resemble my own. In fact, my "own" culture is more a mix of all of the cultures I have lived in and experienced. Once I get my MBA I plan on moving back overseas, and hopefully never living in the States again. If I had my way, I''d move to a new country every few years until I find my *place*. I''m certain there is a place out there that is meant for me. It''s my cultural and geographical soul mate. I just have to find it.

BF grew up in a completely opposite part of the world than me. He grew up on a small farm in Virginia (they had chickens and goats when he was little. His goat was "Bobo," lol) just outside of a really cool town. He has friends that he''s known his entire life, which amazes me. But he''s willing to stomp around the world with me until we find a place we love, which is something I find totally amazing. How much faith do you have to have in your relationship to be willing to pick up and go anywhere with nobody but your SO? Especially knowing that I would not be able to just stay put.

My pets.
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I have two wonderful kitties that I adopted last year. Lola (the cat in my avatar) is 5, and she''s the reigning queen of the apartment. Life goes Lola''s way. She likes to plant herself somewhere and just watch everything that happens in the apartment. Her brother, Ezra, is 10 months old and quite the little terror when he''s not being a total snugglebunny. He loves nothing more than chasing his toys and then sitting on the couch with me and purring himself to sleep.

A part of my pet family doesn''t live with me, lol. BF just got a puppy that we are both in
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with. He''s a 10 week old Boxer puppy who has gone through quite the parade of names. He''s been Samson, Brutus, Titus, and Bodie (bow-dee). Bodie is kind of an Americanization of bodhi, which is part of the term "bodhisattva" (probably misspelled) which is a person that has achieved enlightenment but is staying on Earth to help others on their path towards enlightenment. ("Bodhi" means "enlightened.") BF thinks it''ll be easier for people to pronounce if it''s written like that. His dog, his choice.

How I met my SO. Hahahahahaha...funny story. BF and I were in the same intro Philosophy class our very first semester of school. I hated him. Hated. You know that person that asks really complicated questions right before the class is over and you end up staying late? Yeah, he was that guy. He always had something to say.
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It turns out that he''d already had a year of philosophy, so he liked the challenge the simplistic answers the professor was giving and bringing up flaws in the philosophies. Hilarious when you''re in on the joke. A pain in the butt no matter what.

A week or two later we apparently met at a poker game that I was studying for my intro Anthropology class, but I don''t remember that at all. I pretty much remember hating him and then being best friends. We were really close friends for all of first semester, and we helped each other through some of the hardest situations we''ve ever been in. When we came back from winter break we ended up realizing that we had feelings for each other, and we''ve been together ever since (despite trying to avoid dating each other). 4 years and going strong. Actually, a year or two ago, one of our friends that was petitioning to get us to date was shocked by how long we''d been together, and said, "You know, I knew you guys would date, but I kind of expected it to blow up in a major way after a month or two. I''m impressed." From this particular friend, that''s high praise and a lot of love, lol.

Living alone. I do live alone now, and I love it. It''s so calming to have my own place to go home to. It''s going to temporarily disappear, though. My living situation is going to change in May. My parents (who live overseas) are buying a house here in NC, and I''ll live in it and take care of it for them while they''re gone, and they''ll stay in it over the summer and some Christmases. It''s cheaper rent for me, and they get a ton of benefits out of it, too. And when BF and I want to move in together, he''ll have the option of moving in there with me, or we can get our own place. Or maybe we''ll leave NC before we decide to move in together. But right now I''m completely loving living alone.

Age/job I''m 22, and a customer service rep for a big steamship line. You know when you call a company and get put on hold for a while, and then get somebody who is impossibly perky even though you know their job must be so boring they want to bash their head against their desk? That''s me! One of my customers likes to call me her "little songbird". I''m actually just a generally cheerful, happy person and I like to make sure that my customers get somebody that they enjoy dealing with. We''re in a rough business in a really bad economy, so they should have somebody that they deal with who is relaxing and that they can trust. My customers KNOW I''ll get the job done and do it well, and if I have to fight for something that they need, I''ll take it to the top. Poor customer service is not an option with me. (It does make me a hard customer to please sometimes, though.)

Slow Food I''m just learning about this, Freke, and it''s really exciting! I just feel like to be sustainable AND really get the flavour back in our food, we have to go local. It''s only recently in human history that we haven''t had to survive on what''s local and in season, and I feel like moving away from that wasn''t a great idea.
 
Hey neighbor! Hope you are doing well. I love Barbara Kingsolver but haven''t read anything from her for a long time (like 10 years). Have fun with the puppy!
 
Date: 2/4/2009 2:07:05 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Well mostly it''s people/chefs/restaurateurs who will buy only local produce and products because they are trying to stave off the usage of preservatives and rotten or not top quality foods. They figure if it''s from nearby, it''s fresher and will taste better. There is a big advocate for it in California, I can''t remember her name off the top of my head though. I''ll think about it more.

One thing about it though is that instead of dreaming up crazy dishes with foods from all over the world, you have to be more imaginative and come up with dishes that are composed of food grown locally which is harder.

(I mean, we''d never have seafood here in NM!)
You''re probably thinking of Alice Waters.
 
Yay Princess!

We are kindred in our feeling about weddings being intimate!

So tell me, how do you envision your wedding day? What about your SO, how does he see it?
 
Date: 2/4/2009 6:28:52 PM
Author: princesss
Living in several countries. Well, I''ve lived in the States, Thailand, Singapore, Panama, and Spain. Okay, somehow that doesn''t look like a lot. I love to travel, and the only thing I really make an effort to collect is stamps for my passport. So far I''ve been to Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Austria, Hungary, England, Italy, France, Denmark, and Morocco (plus places I''ve lived, obviously). I think that''s the complete list. I love living in new places and experiencing new cultures. I feel more comfortable when I''m uncomfortable, if that makes sense. I like being forced to learn new languages, and make my way through cultures that do not resemble my own. In fact, my ''own'' culture is more a mix of all of the cultures I have lived in and experienced. Once I get my MBA I plan on moving back overseas, and hopefully never living in the States again. If I had my way, I''d move to a new country every few years until I find my *place*. I''m certain there is a place out there that is meant for me. It''s my cultural and geographical soul mate. I just have to find it.
My goodness you have lived and traveled all over the map!!! And your only 22? Wow girl! That''s pretty awesome...

Where was your favorite place you''ve been thus far?
 
Date: 2/4/2009 2:07:05 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Well mostly it''s people/chefs/restaurateurs who will buy only local produce and products because they are trying to stave off the usage of preservatives and rotten or not top quality foods. They figure if it''s from nearby, it''s fresher and will taste better. There is a big advocate for it in California, I can''t remember her name off the top of my head though. I''ll think about it more.

One thing about it though is that instead of dreaming up crazy dishes with foods from all over the world, you have to be more imaginative and come up with dishes that are composed of food grown locally which is harder.

(I mean, we''d never have seafood here in NM!)
Am I late or what? Thanks for the clarification. There is a restaurant here that tries to do this. The food was well prepared but I actually didn''t care for the dish I had enough to return. However, their drinks were awesome!
 
princess you are sooo interesting. have i already told you how jealous i am of your travel experience? can i just say i''m jealous of your parents more!!! i want a house here and in another country and I wouldn''t mind having a nice kid to housesit for me when I''m away!
 
Trill: BF is okay with the idea of a small wedding, as long as there is some kind of big party with his family. I don''t get along with my extended family (we "abandoned" them to move overseas, and if you''re not around them, you''re not included), but I completely adore his. So I love the idea of having a way to share our special time with them, and then still having a really small wedding.

I know my mom''s going to fight it, though. She thinks weddings are big ways to celebrate with everybody and their brother. It may take me refusing any monetary help to get the wedding I want, but that''s what I''ll do. Her mom talked her out of a lot of things that she wanted in her wedding, though, so I hope she''ll understand when the time comes. Really, I''d love to keep it under 15 people on a beach somewhere beautiful.

Dream: Favourite place? Gosh, that''s so hard to pick. I have a love affair going on with Paris. Singapore is home. Thailand is a thrill for the senses. Marrakech was a total adventure. Florence is incredible Those are probably my top 4. Singapore and Paris are the places I picture when I close my eyes and think about being someplace I love. Florence is a very close third, but is more my BF''s favourite city than it is my dream city.

I''m going back to Paris in April, and I''m SOOOO excited. My roommate stole some of my postcards I got in Paris, so now I get to go back (and with more money in my pocket). I''ll definitely be buying some decorating stuff. Hopefully a painting. I try to collect paintings from places I''ve been. Even if they''re kitschy tourist trap art, they capture a moment and a place for me, so I get them. So far I only have four (two from Morocco and two from Panama) but I hope to add one from Paris and one from Holland when I go over in April.

Moon: I''m jealous of my parents as well! They''ve got an incredible life, and incredible marriage, and great kids (if I do say so myself, lol). One of my life goals is to have a passport as thick as my dad''s last one. It was coming up on an inch thick, if it hadn''t passed that by the time he had to get a new one. He''s been to 6 continents, and I don''t even know how many countries. Mama has been more tied to one place (sometimes while my dad is on another continent), but I think once my brother and sister are in college she''ll be going with him on more trips.

And they''ve now got a gorgeous house! Closing is at the end of March, but it''s really a great place. And I get to decorate! Woohoo, an excuse to hit up World Market and street fairs overseas. I''m sold. Plus lots of painting. We''ve either not really had the money/time to paint my room, or we''ve been renting for my entire life, so as soon as I found an apartment I could paint, I was sold. But a whole house? So exciting! I picked out the paint colours for my room, and I can''t wait to get to work. Mama is coming over to sign the papers at the end of March, helping me move (and paint, maybe), and then we''re flying to Holland together. LOL, Dad says he feels all rich now because he has a "summer house." Really, it''s just that they finally have a house of their own again!
 
P, I am so excited for you! You live pretty close to me. Let me know if you need anything!
 
Date: 2/26/2009 9:46:32 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
P, I am so excited for you! You live pretty close to me. Let me know if you need anything!

Yay, T! I will definitely let you know.
 
Hey Princesss so I am bringing this thread up again because I love that you love to travel so much!

I was wondering about some things- so you want to move out of the US, but how easy is that? where were you born? That is my dream too and I am going to go to the Netherlands hopefully next May (also Germany, England, France, Poland, and MAYBE Czech Republic..) It is so exciting!
 
Hey ILA! Thanks for paging me, I definitely wouldn''t have seen this otherwise.

It can be difficult to get out (especially right now, with the shortage of jobs EVERYWHERE, the EU is understandably focused on making sure their own people have jobs and aren''t giving out work visas like normal), but as with anything, you can make it happen if you want it badly enough. BF is going to grad school, and his promise to me was that he will not accept a job in the US. So he''ll be focusing on international internships to make connections overseas, and in the meantime I''m trying to make sure I stick with large, international companies so that I could transfer to a new country relatively easily. Really what I would love to do is write, and I can do that from anywhere, so we''ll see what happens after we move. Right now I''m trying to stay focused and not get disheartened. We have about 5+ years before we can move, and I''m getting claustrophobic. Lucikly I get to visit my parents in Decemeber in Holland, and then they''re moving to Dubai this summer, so at some point I''ll visit them there. Plus once BF and I both have grown up jobs and a good chunk in savings, we''ll get to plan a trip just for fun.

I''ll write more later, but I''ve got to go run some errands.
 
I am so intrigued! I want to move there as well, and I am 21 (almost 22)and I want to move there within the next 3-5 years - to the Netherlands. Luckily, my boyfriend is going into corporate finance and he is also trying to only work for companies that he can get a connection with. So far all the companies he has applied for internships for have offices in Europe, specifically Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

I was just so happy when I went over there, I compare everything to it. I know you are much more well-traveled than I am, so I can''t really say much to you, but I literally LOVED Europe. But I am getting a degree in Elementary Ed, and the only way I can think of getting a job to begin with is working on a US military/army/navy base. That''s my best bet, but it''s completely doable.

What languages do you know? I am taking German right now and immensely enjoying it, even though it''s time consuming and NOT a part of my major.
 
princesss--thanks for being such an interesting gal, I''ve followed your story as well and find you intriguing! Love finding more out about you and look forward to hearing more. Cheers!
 
ILA, it''s not about being more or less well-traveled, it''s about having the passion and going for it! We all have to start somewhere, you know? I lucked out and my parents moved overseas when I was 11. It''s where we go from here that matters.

On top of looking at military schools, there are international schools run on the American system in almost every country. My brother and sister to go an American school in the Netherlands, and between the three of us we''ve gone to international schools in Thailand, Singapore, Panama, the Netherlands, and soon Dubai. Get your certification, hold a job for a few years, and it''s relatively easy to get a job. The bigger schools tend to have high standards, but great benefits, too. Budget issues are less frequent, and you tend to be able to do more with the kids. One of the benefits to private schools, I guess. My mom actually did long-term sub jobs in Singapore, and said it was great because the answer was almost always "Yes" to anything she wanted to do with the kids. (Plus, the school always had cool stuff going on - the year after I graduated they got a DNA lab!)

I''m so grateful that BF is willing to do this with me. It was a make-or-break point in our relationship. We studied in Spain together, and I was fully prepared to break up with him if he said he couldn''t handle moving abroad again. (I''m a little intense about this, lol.) It''s a huge part of me, and basically the biggest goal I have, so I couldn''t be with somebody that wasn''t willing to go abroad with me. I don''t feel like myself here. I get claustrophobic, and like I can''t be myself. I love being in an unfamiliar place surrounded by people speaking an unfamiliar language and having to make my way around. It''s fun. I thrive on the fish out of water feeling (maybe that makes me a masochist, but oh well). Because of what he wants to do (some combination of law and urban development) we''ll probably end up moving around less, but traveling more. PLUS if you take a local contract in Europe, you usually get local benefits, like longer maternity leave and more vacation.

It''s a great life. Hard, but great. It can be lonely and isolating, but you get so much out of it.

Now I really miss traveling! LOL. I just keep reminding myself it''s only a few more years, but it''s been really hard lately.

Btw, thanks for the sweet words, Monnie!
 
Oh, and I speak English and Spanish, and I want to start French fairly soon. Plus I try to pick up a bit of whatever language the country I''m in speaks, but I tend to forget that as soon as I leave.
 
It''s funny because I know exactly how you feel about the being out of place. Although I didn''t LIVE there, it was like somewhere that felt like home more than when I returned home! I wasn''t missing anything back at home. Thanks so much for sharing more about yourself, if I have other questions, I will ask!

I think you are so interesting!
 
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