A Girl's Guide to Pack

PS: This applies only to short-term business trips.

1. Check the Weather Forecast - But don't take this literally, most of the time they will be wrong. My recommendation: Never leave anywhere without an umbrella and an anti-frizz spray or creme - You don't want to end up like me in my last business trip to Paris.
2. Choose a Carry-On Bag - Be sure that your baggage fits the standards of the airline. The 55 cm rolling suitcase is a classic! If its too big or too heavy, they'll check it in, which means longer waiting time and the terrifying possibility of having it lost! - This happened to a colleague last summer when she landed in U.A.E.: +40ºC, no deo and no suit.
3. Choose the Liquids - Liquids should never be more than 100ml and have to be kept in a small zip-top bag. My Essentials: moisturizer, hair conditioning, hair styler, deo, toothbrush and toothpaste. Really, don't try to smuggle in anything bigger than that, or you'll find yourself giving up your expensive new tan lotion (seen that happen).
4. The Meeting Clothes - A black suit, a dress and 2-3 shirts. Not to forget the belt for the suit, as well as black shoes with a comfortable height. Try choosing wrinkle-free clothes, they're a life saver!
5. Extra Clothes (just in case) -I always tend to take a less-conventional shirt to pop-up the black suit - it's quite practical if you suddenly end up having a dinner with clients - and a pair of formal jeans (that is, no holes, no washed-outs). If there's enough space, take another pair of shoes - you never know if your heels might break or your shoes are trying to kill you in slow pain.
6. Make-Up - Ok, a tiny bag with the really essential make-up (whatever you need to look fresh and awake) and some basic ponytail holders and pins for bad hair days - I'd wish I had some of those during that trip to Paris...
7. Adherent Roller - To get rid of the fluff that may stick on your black clothes.
8. A Worldwide Adapter Plug - and of course, all your chargers and electronic essential devices - no need to say phone (or phones in my case - wtf, now I am carrying 3 with me...), blow-dryer, straightener (and laptop).

So I think this is it! Anything missing?

I packed in a record time of 10 minutes, but you should get it quicker than that ;)

What makes the perfect Job

Now that most of the people I know have been or are actually employed, work has become one of the main topics (how sad is that?). None of us are 100% happy at work for different reasons.

Recently, too many of my close friends have given up their jobs to travel or improve their english, or have started searching for job opportunities in a different sector and/or country. I particularly also notice some changes in my company which I'm not sure I like and suddenly found myself wondering if this is really what I want to do and where I want to be.

I came up with this list that would make the perfect Job (according to moi):

• The Field - The first of all the matters is the company's field or sector. It should be at least something I'm interested in - something I'd like to read daily news and market movements about. I wouldn't bother to get to know the new trends in power tools for professionals. But I do like the commodities market - In the risk of sounding like a freak, my mind goes wild reading how aluminum is produced, what makes steel prices fluctuate and how does the weather or political issues affect food supply.

• The Tasks - Of course, its not only the field but the department and the corresponding tasks I would be carrying out. I'm quite flexible with the tasks, however - but this is mainly because its my first job. You cannot expect to be taking big decisions after nine months in the company. I guess its more important in this aspect to have a variety of tasks (different projects running at the same time) and to notice increasing responsibility and rising involvement in different stages of the project.

• The Boss - I bet I'm not the only one that dreams of a cute young and single boss sitting day after day just in front of me - That would be so encouraging! However, we can't chose our boss and many times the supervisors we get are assholes, mean and absolutely discouraging. During my first internship I had a boss that made sexist comments about my wardrobe, was steadily making marks on my private life and made me wear heels to pack and unpack hundreds of boxes (among other ridiculous stuff). Now, on the other hand, I really come along well with my manager - we have the same sense of humor, he doesn't consider any question a stupid question and doesn't consider me his competition.

• The City - Here's the tricky one - The City. Almost anything is acceptable as long as you can meet your best friends after work and slag off everything that bothers you with a couple of beers. I guess that's what I'm missing here.... a lot.

• The Company Environment - Ok, this is a pretty broad concept. Herewith I mean not only the fact of having none or hardly any competition among co-workers (I guess this rules out Investment Banks). When the company is young and international - specially when you are working abroad, this is a big plus. This means there would be people in a similar situation as yours and frequent after work get togethers in a pub nearby work. Besides this, the company should encourage its employees to expand their knowledge and improve in their tasks, as well as giving the opportunity to climb up the company ladder.

• The Salary - Let's be honest - money matters. We can't offer our time and effort for free (excluding internships). The salary we get, at least at the beginning of our professional career, will rule our lifestyle. If salaries are too low, you might not be able to afford living abroad or leave the nest. However, realistically, I would not expect a salary that would buy me a porsche after only one year work (this only happens to a few lucky birds, and I don't know anyone personally). It should pay the rent, the food and some travel - then I'm happy.

• The Work vs. Life Balance - I've always been told that as a beginner you have to be willing to park your life for 2 years in order to reach up high and only then start living. This is probably true for any highly competitive sector - from fashion to finance. Of course many of us dream of driving fancy cars or getting back every evening to a nice loft wherever we want to be, but how far should we push ourselves for corporate success?

• On the Go - Probably not everyone will agree with this point and, most likely, I won't agree with it myself in a couple of years. But at this stage, what I want to do is meet people, make contacts, travel by train, plane and car, visit ports, terminals and plants, understand how it works, participate in as much meetings as possible, go to dinners with clients,... - Basically, be somewhere else all the time, which, from my point of view, is the best way to learn.

I've evaluated each of these points and know what I have and what I'm missing - basically the city and a bit of the tasks. I'll do my best to change this - not everything depends on the employer but some on the employee himself.

Maybe I should be more decisive. Maybe I should be more competitive. Maybe I should just shout for it....

Moving!

I'm moving into my new apartment beginning of July and I need to furnish it completely (I'm not even sure it includes a mirror in the bathroom...!). In the last couple of weeks I've been investigating a lot about all kind of basic furniture - say the essential to live comfortably.

During lunch break and after-work, I have walked into every furniture design shop I found in my city... (I leave the basic ones like Ikea for the weekends).But this week, I found the one that made me want to stop searching - the shop has everything I ever imagined in my home!

I always wanted to live in one of these apartments with a brick wall or with one wall painted with a metallic effect, high ceiling and big windows... And imagined it with some kind of modern vintage decoration - like brown leather sofas, and tables and chairs made of a combination of dark wood and an imitation of rusty metals. Let's say, I visualize my apartment like a industrial studio - Now that I write it down, it sounds weird...

Anyway, I've absolutely fallen for this brand, Kare Design. They offer a broad collection for practically any style. Here are my favorite picks:

Amazing painting of the City that never sleeps

Love it! Seems confi, chic, used but modern...

And... my favorite piece of art.

NZ Road Trip #5: Wellington

Its a while since I last wrote on my trip around New Zealand - I have to catch up before my alzheimer starts having short-term effects on good memories (I'm not sure if these issues as caused by the alcohol or by the overload of finance-related issues that bounce in my head - of course, I prefer thinking its the latter).

Wellington was probably the most trendy city I had seen in a long time. Unfortunately, we only stayed for 2 days, and didn't have time to check all of it, but for the time being, this is what impressed me most:

• The second hand shops - time or weather conditions don't seem to be an issue, there will always be trendy people with big sun glasses, a boho hat and some shopping bags. Only for this reason, I could already picture myself living in this city. The city has a huge second-hand market (specially for clothes). Shops vary in price and style - you can find from elegant charleston dresses for a special event up to H&M t-shirts from last season for half-price or even less. I had to join the trend and bought a nice 70s style silk dress (I swear - you can't resist the shopping!).

• People like wearing hats - yes, its a trend! Besides, if you don’t wear one, you feel uncomfortable. They mostly match them with their stockings and/or handbag (girls) or wearing nerd glasses and slim jeans (guys).

• Bars are awesome - Seriously, I wish I could find this type of bars in Switzerland: affordable, familiar and really stylish. Bars offer a considerable wine menu and I strongly recommend to try a local pinot gris if you like dry white wine.

• It's windy - If I had to name a flaw, it would be the sudden wind - those days, you can't expect having nice hair and the best alternative solution is probably to live under a hat.

I felt sorry for not staying longer in Wellington, but we still had a long way to go....!!

It's all about sports

Today was the first football match Spain played in this years' World Cup. It played against Switzerland. My first reaction was "But, did Switzerland really classify to the World Cup?". This wasn't too good to say out loud in the company, as you can imagine. But I wasn't there to make friends - and besides, everyone knew Spain was going to crush Switzerland anyway.

Well no. We were all wrong, and mysterious miracles (for the swiss) CAN happen. The victory was Switzerland's first-ever over Spain in 19 games! I bet this will account as a national holiday from now on.

The only positive thing I got out of this defeat is a bottle of argentinian wine - I had a bet going on with my boss ;)

To smooth out this disaster and make it less painful, I picked up some situations that reveal my stupidness when it comes to talk about sports. It's not that I don't like them - just nobody ever sat down to explain them to me!

Situation A: Watching a Football Match on TV

- Me: "Yeah, Switzerland might have won the match, but spanish football players are so much better looking!" (World Cup 2010)

- Me: "No wonder Spain can't score them, look how tall they are!" (World Cup 2010)

Situation B: In a bar, with a beer and a japanese football fan

- Him: "So, you are from Spain? Which is your favorite football team? Barcelona?"

- Me: "Barcelona? No waaaay..... I'm for Atletico de Madrid"

- Him: "Oh, no, why?"

- Me: "Because in Madrid I used to live next to a bar where all its (mostly senior) fans went to watch it and they were always very nice! And besides, they have such a good ambience in the matches,, they all seem so into it!"

Situation C: Watching a Rugby game on TV with BF

- Me: "I don't get it, why do they jump on each other?"

- Him: "They are trying to get the rugby ball"

- Me: "But it's like... not efficient at all, isn't it? If all jump at the same time, they can't move!"

Situation D: Watching cricket on TV with BF

- Me: "What's "cricket"?"

- Him: "It's complicated"

- Me: "It doesn't look complicated"

- Him: "Look, it goes like this............." - He does some attempt of making me understand what's it all about. This goes for approximately 5 minutes... In the mean time, I got distracted with the ads.

When he finished...

Me: "Oh, so now New Zealand is winning, right?"

Him: "No. It's losing"

And to finish: a glorious argentinian TV spots related to the World Cup - I certainly identify myself with the women in this video! ;)

NZ Road Trip #4: Tongariro

An insight of the day we found out that Frodo and Sam were NOT as lazy as we thought - at least they made it!

The attempt of walking the 8 hours Tongariro Alpine Crossing (classified as one of World's top 10 one day walks by National Geographic) started at the information desk. As we got there (of course, not as early as we had planned) the first thing we were told that some showers were expected in the afternoon. But we felt strong and full of courage - we had our hiking boots and a simple raincoat we had bought, that fits in a surprisingly small bag.

Of course, we warned the information desk assistant that as good as we look like, we are not sporty people:

Us: "I know we are young and pretty, but please consider, we have absolutely NO physical condition and NO hiking experience" (we lied - me and my best friend HAD some hiking experience... but it was a nightmare and as we almost died we didn't want to consider it as "experience").

Assitant: "Oh no don't worry about that, it's a easy path"

Us: "Yes, uhm, but how steep is it?"

Assistant: "Well, the only difficult part is the beginning, which is pretty steep... but you can avoid it by starting on the other side of the walk (in Ketetahi Car Park)".

That sounds like a plan!

Here's a map of the 19.4km walk.

And just fyi - this actually was quite useful for our decisions- here's a picture of the different steeps and heights we were going to face that day (our tour started on the right side).

Anyway, now you must be wondering why anyone is willing to go through this suffering. Well, there are some good reasons I guess:

- It was the location of Mordor and the Plains of Gorgoroth (Lord of the Rings)

- You get to see a variety of natural scenes: volcanoes, geysers, lakes, forests...

- You meet other healthy/motivated people on your way...

Unfortunately, despite our good intentions, we did not lie about our physical condition and had to turn back after reaching the Ketetahi Hut. This is what we managed to see on our 4.5 hrs trip.

Recommendation: Be prepared. Practice some sport regularly before trying to do the Tongariro Crossing, even if the path is easy... half of the time (at least) you will be walking up the hill. Take 2L of water with you (per person) 'couse there's not such as a water fountain on the way. Take comfortable shoes and not too many coats and jackets (you'll start sweating after the first 45 min walking).

I'm sure that walking the complete path must be amazing... and I regret my laziness! I just hope to be fit enough next time!

Around the World II

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Colonia, Uruguay

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Venice, Italy

Sydney, Australia

NZ Road Trip #3: Rotorua

Next stop - Geothermal Paradise

With a huge hungover after trying out different shots at the hostel's bar, we hit the road on Sunday as early as we could to make our way to Rotorua.

We arrived just on time to leave our stuff at the hostel (this time, Base Rotorua) and take a look at what was surrounding us. When getting near to the city, the smell of the air is suspicious - it reminded us of rotten eggs. At the time we got nearer to the bubbling mud pools, we were so amazed that we (almost) forgot about the rotten eggs. The hostel was 2 min walk from a public geothermal park - Kuirau Park - which is still very active: the latest eruptions just took place around 7 years ago!

At sunset we decided to try out the Polynesian Spa, which offers several different hot spring pools. Its worth to pay the entry fee to enjoy the afternoon view over Lake Rotorua. I would have taken pictures, but it was too confi in the hot pools :)

The next day we headed south to another geothermal park called Waimangu (where I took the pictures above). This is a protected Scenic Reserve and Wilflife Refuge. We didn't want to go to some typical touristic attraction - and this was definitely the best alternative. Upon arrival, you get a map with some short clarifications to each number pointed out in the map. We barely met other people on our way which made us appreciate much more the sounds of nature. I know, this must sound quite weird - but I swear, the sound of bubbling mud and hot sulphuric water got me hypnotized....

Too Old

Another year has passed.....

1. Too old to leave my room without make-up

2. Too old to blame someone else on my own mistakes

3. Too old to dance all night without a drink in my hand....

4. .... as well as too old to get drunk with shots or bar specials because its cheaper

5. Too old to be afraid of the dark....

6. .... and have nightmares after watching CSI

7. Too old to believe in some kind of idealistic love...

8. .... and to believe in love at first sight

9. Too old to be stopped at a bar and asked for an ID

10. Too old to tan without wearing sun medium sun-protection

11. Too old to get no sleep in days without severe consequences

12. Too old to ask someone to come over to kill a spider / cockroach

13. Too old to watch Disney's classic movies....

14. .... and cry on their happy endings

15. Too old to stay in bed the whole sunday

16. Too old to eat whatever I want

17. Too old to wear mini shorts

18. Too old to wear tiny bags

19. Too old to be absolutely spontaneous

20. Too old to feel homesick

21. Too old to have a teddy bear sitting on my bed

22. Too old to wear dresses with hearts and flowers

23. Too old to be influenced by ads and marketing when shopping

24. Too old to read the Twilight Saga

25. Too old to use normal moisturizer - it's time to use anti-aging! (chinese secrets)

26. .... and probably too old to believe that we all will go to heaven

NZ Road Trip #2: Auckland

The journey begins.

I met my friends in Auckland, for a big start. I was the last one arriving from Sydney, just on time to catch one of the last mini vans driving into the city. We had decided to stay in a centric hostel, since we were not planning to stay many days in Auckland - there are hundreds of hostels around Queenstreet (which is pretty much the center of all the happenings), with quite similar price ranges.

We decided to pick BASE Auckland - it's big, centric, with many facilities and is probably one of the best options to party. We stayed in one of the top floors and had an amazing view of the skyscrapers! The hostel has its own bar in which they offer specials every night: free pizza, drinks at 5 NZD (about 2.5 EUR), ladies night, games night...

Our first night out we tried finding some local bars and pubs. There were some nice places in Vulkan Lane, a small pedestrian street located perpendicular to Queenstreet. People start drinking quite early - so when we finished dinner, people were already heading to the clubs. The clubs we found were located near the Waterfront (some are a little picky about the dresscode, maybe because it was weekend...).

After our first big night out, we woke up the next day ready to walk around Waiheke Island, taste their wine, visit their beaches, and try out some of the famous hiking tours! However, when we got out of the hostel, it started raining. No, raining is not really the word... it was more like the Apocalypse! As a reasonable alternative, we decided it was probably the best day to learn something about New Zealand - geography, history and its flora and fauna - we went to the Auckland Museum. It's definitely worth a visit to learn about maori culture and about the many volcanoes that shaped New Zealand - Did you know that Auckland lies over 50 volcanoes and not all of them are extinct?

After some hours wandering around, the raining ceased and we decided to take a afternoon - evening shot from Auckland's skyline. Therefore, we took a short ferry that brought us to Devonport. It has one main road on which you can find several nice cafes and restaurants with local wine and beer as well as some good and cheap food!

Later on, when back to Auckland city itself, we gave a try to the hostel bar which ended up to be a very funny night, again. My only recommendation: don't waste your time on ordering gin tonics or vodka lemon, as cheap as it might seem, generally, the wine and beer is much more worth it!!!

NZ Road Trip #1: The Journey...

New Zealand

In order to remember this journey with as many details as possible - and taking into account my lack of long-term memory - I aim to describe our 2 weeks along the north and south island of New Zealand.

Trying to make it as practical as possible - with impressions, pictures and suggestions for those who have thought about taking the step sometime soon - yes, I specially mean you two australians ;) - or for those who just feel curious about the country itself and want to see some pictures!

Ours was a quite tight schedule as you can certainly imagine, we drove a long way to make it from north to south - however, it was completely worth it and I would definitely do it again.

First stop........ AUCKLAND !