My native tongue

Croatian is my mother tongue so I don't expect to ever really forget it. Whenever I called home or visited, I always spoke the language without any trouble. So when we moved back, I was surprised to suddenly come face to face with my lacking vocabulary. I probably moved too early in life so I've never encountered a number of situations in a Croatian speaking environment. For example, I've never held a job that required Croatian so writing Croatian business correspondence is a very painful task indeed. Also, anything that has to do with computers and design mostly leaves me speechless because I have trouble finding the words to say what I want to say. So, complex discussions of any sort now leave me struggling for words. I am sure it makes me look very intelligent when I answer such a frequently asked question of what I do for a living. Saying that I use computers to make pictures just doesn't sound very impressive. Since I work from a home office and people never actually see me go to work, I am sure that most people just think, yeah right, sure you do.

A few days ago during an online work meeting, I was faced with an impromptu review of a project I was working on. Sure, it was confusing material. That's why we were sharing lessons learned amongst ourselves. As I was listening to myself speak, I realized that I sounded just as incoherent as I would be if I were presenting in Croatian. Could it be that it was late and I was really tired? (good excuse) I don't know, but that wasn't one of my proudest moments. The ideas in my head were as clear and organized as they could be. Getting them out in a constructive, effective manner just wasn't happening though. So my audience quickly lost interest. I'll collect my findings in writing and will distribute to the team later. I suspect that it will make more sense then. It was weird to face an inability to communicate well. Still, I say to myself, making my brain work overtime while it lives two languages side by side, constantly switching between the two, will keep my memory fresh and Alzheimer's at bay some day. Cheers to that.

Frost

We awoke to our first frost covered landscape of the season. Though beautiful, it is annoying when we have to clean off the car. Especially if we're running behind schedule which, I admit, does happen, ahem, often... By Saturday night temperatures will dip into 20s.

All I want for Christmas is...

Instead of sending Santa a letter, Chris usually sends me an e-mail with his Christmas wish list. I don't comment on it but make a purchase. By the time Christmas comes around he forgets about his e-mail and then he's pleasantly surprised about his great gift. His wife is so talented that she always knows just what to get. The system works. Until this year. He's so excited about what he wants that he's sent an e-mail and then followed up with a phone call (from work) and then talked about it at home. Repeatedly. I get the hint. I am not that dense.

So last night he brings it up again and actually asks if I had ordered it. And, if I hadn't ordered it that he'll do it the next day just to make sure that he got what he wanted. This is unusual behavior so I had to learn more about it. What he wants for Christmas is a new Fallout 3 computer game. But not just any Fallout 3 will do. He wants the "limited edition." And those go quickly he says. Because they only make so many and he just really wanted one. And it will be sold out so he'd better order one. Limited edition or regular, it is the same game, I said. Nooooooo, he replied with a straight face. Limited edition comes with a LUNCHBOX! That was an excited reply of a 36 year old man who hasn't used a lunchbox since elementary school. Oh yeah, it comes with a bobble-head action figure (read: doll) as well. I bet kids won't be allowed to touch it. LOL.