brought by icodeforlove (@icodeforlove), the Twitter cloud is a fun application. Here’s my twitter cloud for the past year! Seetings: 1 year, medium cloud.

I don’t intend to host a tea ceremony just now :) but to simply share with you the joy, the miracle of tea. An indulging sort of happiness in the little cup, a ballet for the senses, sharpening ideals and fusing dreams. I love tea! :) But that you might have already known.

Care to join me? You can choose from an amazing Flickr gallery dedicated only to TEA.

And if you stop by, share with me your favorite ways of having tea, your favorite time of the day perhaps or tea shops. I’d be delighted!

Originally uploaded by minato

Originally uploaded by Tammy Manet

= Japanese, art, jazzy, pure, delight, consumed spiritual feelings, cravings for cities of romance and unconquered decisions, inspired frolic, comprised profusion of energies. =

That was a list of words inspired by this Wednesday’s spoonful of thoughts. Maybe the online radion Martini in the morning also has something to do with it, or it could be the recent postcard I got from Antwerp (yes, I do love postcards so much!). All these words could also mean my spirited attitude, determined self, positively motivated actions I work with in my time.

phew.. yes, a lot to chew on, a lot to ponder on. But no time for many musings, as business calls :) I have to do a presentation for today’s Eufides meeting and then continue with my brand community articles and G-1 Billion. Looking forward to the NST email as well.

“I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee.” ~ Carly Simon

To the tunes of jazzy feelings, I curl in bed with my netbook on and explore the world of ebooks. It looks deliriously astonishing, because I want to read them all. Jazz puts me in a peculiar disposition, of clouds and rain, of melancholy without pain, with speechless complexions of lost times. I hear tea whispers and see coffee fumes. It’s really controversial, it could not be as profuse unless on purpose. The thoughts themselves are hazy stories in my mind and all the books I see online are figments of realities of other people’s minds. It has been delightfully plotted on purpose, in order to make all coffee clouds sweet dreams before I go to sleep.

1. The last band I saw live was some cool Brazilian bands at Brazilian Festival in Copenhagen in 2009.
2. What I look forward to most on Christmas is watching the others when they open their presents.
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is going to be insanely exciting this year. I have tons of ideas and actually plan to hand craft some presents myself.
4. Thoughts of COP15 and G-1 Billion planning fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear a hula dress and actually spend this evening in Waikiki with my bf.
6. Bagpipes give me chills – as much as I love the sound, it really creeps me out for some undefined reason.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to finishing some Photoshop tutorials, tomorrow my plans include work on thesis, designing jar labels, starting my designs for Christmas cards and Sunday, I want to have a relaxing time at family lunch get-together!

I bet you knew about COP15. I bet you want to contribute somehow and feel like you’re doing something useful. I bet you’ve always needed a sort of  push to move forward or a motivational speech from leaders. Nevertheless, perhaps you don’t even believe in activism and masses of people creating awareness.

What else do you want? You either do something or don’t do anything. And if you don’t contribute, I won’t judge you, but you’d miss an opportunity to learn more about what motivates others to get involved.

Anyway, here are some opportunities for brave people who don’t get bashful at the view of environmental conference ads and twitter posts. First of all, you ALL should know about the ‘Conference of Parties’ #15 OR COP15. The conference is hosted by the United Nations in Copenhagen, in December 2009 and is the biggest climate festival of our generation.

Here’s how you can get involved and do something no matter if you are in Copenhagen or abroad:

The G-1 Billion team is gathering a team of 20 reporters from 15 countries that will chase stories in and around the conference, reporting back right here on this blog. +here on twitter. There are lots of opportunities!

Join the global movement to save the climate. YoU-Turn the Earth! Greenpeace International is present at COP15. Get involved!

Time is short to reach the goal of 15 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2020, so companies need to be showing now which technologies and solutions have the biggest impact on overall emissions. COOL IT Challenge is supporting this!

Get inspired by Swedish cleantech and Swedish expertise on how to reduce climate emissions! swedencop15

What am I doing, you ask? I am part of the Support Team at G-1 Billion.org, the youth press agency that covers what comes out of COP15. I am also promoting cop15 and environmental issues on social media. I’d love to hear from you, whether you are from an NGO or just someone who wants tips on how to participate to the fight against climate change.

I stumbled upon “Do the green thing” and loved their short ideas! Check their website, you’ll love it! Images are courtesy of DO the Green thing. Please visit their website and contribute!

Walk the walk

Stay grounded

All-consuming

Easy on the meat

Human heat

Plug out

Stick w/ what u got

“Mr Klaus and his supporters had opposed the treaty fearing it would lead to closer European integration and give too much power to Brussels.” FT.com

“Opinion polls showed most Czechs wanted their president to sign and worried that his continued resistance was harming their country’s standing in the EU.” FT.com

Finally, the Treaty is signed! pheewww things can move on. Hopefully for a better governance of the Union. Now let’s all gather and discuss the next steps, shall we? What will happen next, now that the treaty is signed? ^^

In my quest for graphic tools and gadgets I have discovered the possibility of actually buying a graphic tablet, as I am learning illustrative art and design. So today I have started reading bits and pieces of reviews. Should you have any recommendations regarding the perfect tablet for drawing, I would certainly take them into considerations. help me decide what features count most and learn how tablets have changed the way graphic design is being done! :)

First of all, about.com has an article of things one should be aware of before buying a graphic tablet. I’d say a good informative read! I learned that desired size of a tablet would be 4”, 5” even 8” for home users and hobbyists. Apparently, Wacom and Aiptek are the only manufacturers known to produce wide-format graphics tablets. The pen/stylus can offer a bunch of features too. There are more things but I will not list them all now.

Before choosing a gadget it is important to check reviews and specs. A few websites that offer a bunch of reviews of graphic tables are:

• Testseek
• Graphics tablet Reviews
• Pixmania.co.uk
• Best Tablet Review

I’ve yet to learn more and discover the features that most interest me. I’m not looking for something expensive though. Wish me luck! :)

Today I pondered a lot on my dream: to write my novel in a cottage high up in the Swiss Alps. The actual place does not matter that much, but the wish to write and feel artistic in my own way of expressing colors and sounds with a palette of words is overwhelming. Every year I plan to write a bit more. I have started my novel – maybe few of you know that. It’s hand-written in an old notebook with yellow pages – yes! they’re already yellow. It’s rather bohemian in nature, a notebook with red covers (so it used to be) – the place where my childhood has rooted phrases in my head only to gather them all later in this very notebook.

How it all started? I would really have to ponder more :) I guess it started with a book by Mihail Sadoveanu – a famous Romanian writer. A small diary also contributed with tiny pages for the poems I was writing at the time.

It feels good to remember. It feels good to know how things begin, how memories unfold. It is also a delight when I manage to put it all together – I will, in my novel.

Click here to read more about this initiative.

AND

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Love comes from blindness, friendship from knowledge. -Bussy-Rabutin, Comte De

Love that comes from friendship though cannot be blind. Love that comes from friendship is deep and thoughtful, romantic and incredibly special; knowledge and friendship spice up love in a multitude of ways.

“We need to forget things before we want to remember them.”

Truth is I don’t even want to remember the possibility of some things that haven’t yet happened but are somehow bound to. External forces that steal all control and leave one powerless and with a grand soundless poke from fate. It’s complicated. I will not explain.

I sincerely like long-strapped bags because I can wear them across my body and not worry that the strap slides on my shoulder. This season they’re very trendy and Vogues likes to praise the style. Read more here.

“One of the best places for this kind of bag is at a concert,” saysVogue Fashion Writer Jane Herman, who just took her little YSL pouch to a Dodos show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “You can clap, hold a drink, and easily keep an eye on your bag.”

I do like this bag a lot! It looks comfy, simple, special and matches my style.

A weekly meme hosted by Janet at Friday Fill-Ins

1. The crickets sing, winter is coming.

2. I am thinking of you, wherever you are.

3. I want to get far away from the noise and pollution.

4. Learning to play the guitar; this was a dream.

5. But as for me I am not always so cheerful as people believe me to be.

6. Many people want to know where I come from, because they believe I am of Hispanic origin.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a lovely walk in the park, tomorrow my plans include conference with my friend from Guatemala and a lot of work on my thesis and Sunday, I want to visit my grandma!

Maybe many of my friends and acquaintances have been wandering. I have kept many in the dark about details or flashes of stories. I’ve been enjoying fall, though under a circumspect load of actions on my part, incessant ideas and longing for new adventures abroad. I’m getting along with my thesis and it’s going great. I’m also working at the same time on an EU Project.

And for some extra dose of novelties:

• traveled to the mountains in August

• got a Google Wave account ! the preview is quite good, there’s lots to learn about waving ;)
• got a netbook which I’m enjoying a lot

my new netbook

• worked in the garden and hand picked my fave veggies

• rediscovered autumn delights

walnuts, corn, my grandma's chickens and leafy trees

• fell in love with interior design and I wonder why I haven’t done some design and creative studies for a change
• sort of planned winter holidays (but there are details to sort out)
• traveled to Budapest for Balazs’ graduation: read more here.
• have been drinking more coffee than I used to (I’m not proud)
• have checked Facebook more often, since most of my friends are abroad and reachable this way
• have had a couple of interviews for next year and there are more to come, but focusing more on thesis now and the EU project I’m working on
• reread Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen ^^
• rediscovered a special online community –> takingITglobal

Surprisingly so, I secretly didn’t want to go to Norway for one year. It would have been totally against my/our sought-out plans. It might have indeed complicated matters and have led to a development of novel situations and exceedingly unnerving feelings. I’m not going there. And it is good to know and get my mind off things, except for those pointing me to BXL.

It’s settled. Life works when it points out the road in an old fashioned way and pokes you in the shoulder to get your attention. To me it says: “you’re on for a great adventure to BXL, the city you wanted in the first place. So, you’d better find a way to get there fast, as there’s nothing else to stop you now”.

Yes, life can be direct and can give me long speeches too.

I call it MINE.

It is a beautiful Ann Taylor dress, with simple folds and stylish appearance. And oh the color. I got it in my reader feed from a website called The bridal wishlist. But this is dress can be perfectly suited for let’s say a New Year’s party.

Dress by Ann Taylor/ via The Bridal Wishlist

I love it. I had to post it here and hear your thoughts.

And it is official: if/when I get it I have my personal photographer for the photo shoot. YAY

Now.. who wants to get this for me as a present?

Lately I seem to get inspired mostly by photos. My writings tend to become either deep self-reflections or muddily excited rants. Defining thus my constant state of apprehension for things to come, while deciding to stay firmly put and still focus on what’s happening right here/there, right now.

So to say, I have my heart at work to join the disjointed flickers of misaligned alternatives OR to put it simply –> to make sense of what I am and what I want for now and for the after now.

I thought a lot about Climate Change and campaigns, sometimes being sceptical about the efficiency of word-of-mouth communication and awareness vs. real actions. There are many campaigns and they are to be applauded and supported. The end goal though is for each of these movements to trigger something in people’s behaviour: a sense of community building aiming to change. A feeling of trust in the ability of people to do something for the better and for future generations. Not leaving it to others to carry on ideals and different actions, but taking part in them too.

I assume a lot about people and I tend or wish to believe there is wish for goodness in humanity in each. Idealistic. Sometimes I doubt everyone and I refuse to believe there even is a problem like global warming. Because this “crisis” is as huge as the Earth, is humane, is real, but not perceived. It is portrayed as too large to be grasped in real life. My perception. I joined groups like change.org where it is shown how little actions like for example turning off water while your brushing your teeth instead of leaving it to flow in vain. Little actions count so much, but they are taken only by those people who understand Global Warming and such crisis in real life, at tangible level.

What can most of us do? Become aware of it, teach others, learn and take the chance of doing little things. Because combined, myriads of little actions can do wonders.

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. Read more here.