“Is he really here?”

It would make sense for him to be there since entering the theater there was quite the security check. I looked around as well, but I didn’t see anything. The performance began and it was indeed very lovely. There is something really quite majestic about conductors. They stand there, with their back to you, their heads popping to the right, to the left, upwards and downwards – their entire body dancing away comically but with so much power and emotion it’s almost frightening. The Soloists were lovely and they performed the “Messa Da Requiem” by Guiseppe Verdi, which, since I’ve never heard it in full, was really enjoyable.

However, I’m off on a tangent there. Let’s get back to Mr. President. At the end of the performance, I turned my head to look at the small size of the Theater and there he was, standing proudly with his Dutch wife at his side. Americans in front of us kept looking up at him, others turned around as well. A lot of the applauding attention that should have been given to the Orchestra was distracted with his presence. And here is what I have to say about that.

Really?!

I understand that he’s the boss man of this country. I understand he does great (and not so great) things. I understand that he’s important. Yet, I’ve never understood this notion of fame. Yes, people have great talent and they’re known world wide, but how does that allow them to be elevated on a pedestal. Don’t get me wrong, I am not jealous or bear any sort of grudge against fame in general – I just don’t see how these people are any more important or special than other people. I haven’t been able to see this in the past, nor has it changed recently.

In my opinion, everyone is special. Everyone is capable of doing great things, although it is true that not everyone puts their talent to its best use. However, most of these people don’t do so simply because they don’t have the means to. Would they have the means (and by this of course I mean money and the right environment), they might have been Mr. President at the Rustaveli Theater today. There are many people out there who would be more capable and do a better job than Mr. President, yet not everyone has the means.

Not having the means however, does not mean that it puts them on a lower level of importance. Humans do not have any sort of hierarchy determining their importance – or at least they shouldn’t, in my mind. Every single person in this world is keeping the world running full steam ahead. Every single person in this world is of equal importance – Mr. President, the lawyer, the doctor, the professor, the factory worker, the housewife, the cleaning lady, the sick, the poor, the wealthy. Take one out and there is, all of a sudden an imbalance. Everyone does in fact need each other. We don’t need Mr. President any more than we need that factory worker. Or the Orchestra.

After all the great things I have heard about the novel and the great things that I even believed the novel to be, I was extremely disappointed after the first couple of chapters. Gustave Flaubert’s writing style is lovely, I have to admit that much, but the story bored me to tears. The first few chapters comprised of nothing but some philosophical remarks that I should think are rather common sense and a boring description of what Madame Bovary’s life should have been. I saw the ending already, without having gotten there. Another Anna Karenina type of a woman – romantic in its notion but disgusting in its reality. I have to say, that I was so completely bored with the book that I just about gave up on it. Yet, I felt like I had to finish it. The boyfriend chirps in that it’s a classic, so even if I don’t like it in the end, it deserves to be read. So, I continue flipping the pages unenthusiastically.

Then, I find myself nearly towards the end of the book, the day has grown dark and time seemed to fly by. Furthermore, even though I was rather hungry, I could not tear myself away from the novel. Then it hit me – the novel ceased to bore me and became rather entertaining past Volume 1. The last few chapters were particularly fantastic and although it was indeed an Anna Karenina ending, somehow I managed not to judge it harshly at all.

So, why am I telling you about this book? Because after the boyfriend pointed out that many things in life are just like my experience with Madame Bovary, I realized that that was in fact completely true. How many times do we go through life, having to deal with things that bore us to no end, ready to give up any second – but, if we hold out, if we finish that project or walk that extra mile – we feel a sense of satisfaction that could not be achieved any other way. We see things that otherwise we wouldn’t have seen. We meet people that we would not have met. I’ve talked about this before, but it really does pay off to keep going – one way or another.

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh my, lots.

• First and foremost, the opportunity that I had to see my grandparents. My grandfather is not doing so fantastic with his health, so who knows if he’ll live for another couple of years when I have the chance to go see them again?
• My trip that now seems like it was months ago – when really, it’s only been about 2 weeks. To read more about my trip and see some photos, check out my personal blog, This is not America.
• My new found love for cooking – and cooking relatively healthy. Eating healthy is extremely important for overall happiness, and in this area I have failed over and over again. However, I will keep trying over and over again, until one day I will get the hang of it. I think my new love for cooking is a great step in the right direction – no more quick McDonald’s for lunch and dinner because I am hungry and hate anything that sounds like much work. Let’s just put it this way – much work is not so much work when there’s two.
• And that leads me to be ever so thankful for the boyfriend. I don’t often let him know just how much I appreciate him. He’s a wonderful person – understanding and helpful in his own way. Thank you Michael.
• Crazy Georgian taxi drivers for adding some spice to everyday life.
• The Dry Bridge market on the weekends in Tbilisi. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it much, but I loved it. Full of old, antique objects that you wouldn’t find elsewhere. Pins and memorabilia from the Communist times, old Georgian, Turkish, Russian money, lovely little paintings, pretty plates and crystal. The only thing that’s missing is furniture – if only they had antique furniture, I think I would be going there every weekend.
• Wordpress. I recently moved my personal/travel blog from Typepad to Wordpress and life is now looking brighter. Typepad may be fine for some people, but for what I wanted it to do, it was horrible. Although Wordpress.com could work on their gallery options, it is so much easier to make it a post look good than it was on Typepad.
• All the wonderful cooking blogs I’ve found recently. To name a few:
  Simply Recipes
  Taste Spotting
  Your Vegan Mom
  What the hell does a Vegan eat anyway?

• The weather in Tbilisi! No more ice and snow up to my knees. A little rainy, but warm enough for a sweater and a spring jacket.
• Finally buying some furniture to furnish this apartment of ours – and it looking really good! Despite it not being my style whatsoever. I’m very particular with interiors, I have to admit.

Now it’s your turn. What are you thankful for this week?

I was in a way surprised to find that this time around it was quite different. I searched for the answer within myself, but I’m afraid I couldn’t find it. It’s not that I didn’t have a great time, it’s not that I now have a better living environment – I’m not more attached to my apartment here in Tbilisi than I was to any other apartments I’ve lived in. So what has changed? I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just part of growing up. As we grow older – or let’s say, mature – we develop a sense of routine, if not an actual routine. We get accustomed to the place we live in and we view it with much importance – the way it looks, the way it holds up. We work towards making it our area of retreat, our area of relaxation, our area where we can be ourselves.

As young adults, I think we’re more careless and have much less of an attachment to such things. Our values are yet to be formed, and thus, we go along with the flow and are much easier to please, in many ways. Our home is wherever our parents are, and for most young teenagers and young adults who live with parents, that doesn’t necessarily mean a place of privacy, a place of retreat. Perhaps this doesn’t allow the same bond to form, that would otherwise form between one and his private retreat. I suppose this is not always the case, but I think it is the case for quite the majority.

Either way, I believe that’s what distinguished this time from all the previous times for me. Upon arriving in Tbilisi, I felt such joy that I nearly bounced out of my window seat on the Ukrainian Airlines flight, before actually landing. I loved hearing the Georgian language, even though, once again, I understood nothing. It was a nice change, being in the UK and Romanian, where I could communicate with people without having to resort to making weird bodily movements or sounds to express what I want. I was overjoyed by the sight of the crazy TV Tower gracing Tbilisi with it’s spurts of light throughout the whole night. I was even more excited by the sight of the Taxi drivers. Upon walking out of the Airport, I asked (please note that I asked, not they asked – in Kiev they bounce on you as if they are hungry wolves and you are a foreign looking object – with blond hair) for a taxi and the first in line took me home. I was ever so happy that I tried to speak my very little – or rather, non existing – Georgian, something which I hardly ever do because I’m rather shy when it comes to talking in foreign languages. My heart fluttered at overtaking the Police Car on the highway and it bounced with joy when the car horns displayed the drivers impatience. Driving between two lanes again felt good – so very good. But the best part – the best part was sleeping in my own comfortable bed, and the assurance that I’ll be sleeping on that same bed for at least a few months before sleeping on another.

And now, that I’m back, the blog will also be back. I did however decide that, although my main goal is the same, I think I’m going to execute it in a much more relaxed manner. Therefore, because Beauty Today has always made me more than a little bit anxious and ill feeling, I will stop that. Instead, I hope to be able to bring some beauty in my posts every single day, instead of just on Tuesdays. My idea when I started with it, was a good one I think, however I don’t believe I’m the right person to actually do it. I hope you can all bear with me in the next month or so as I mold this blog into what I really want it to be. I’m on the right track – just a couple of details are missing. I truly appreciate your readership, and on my embarking on this new… let’s say, minor revamp of a sort, I do welcome any opinions. What do you like about this blog? What don’t you like? What would you like to see in the future? Your opinions matter a lot.