Don't you know who I am?

This morning I walked down to the Gran hotel Princesa Sofia café to try to wake up and work on a business plan for a new project I am fantasizing about with my boyfriend and would be very much excited to bring to life one day. I guess this is what happens when one is on vacation longer then couple of days. Your mind clears from daily work stress, you finally get some much needed sleep and your mind starts to function with its full creative capacity.

While sipping on my coffee and trying to focus on what I am about to write, I started people watching since I could feel a dose of nervousness and anticipation in the air. Then, I remembered that my boyfriend told me about and got tickets for today’s big euro football game: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. He also told me that Madrid team is staying in our hotel. I guess this is what all of this fuss is about.

On the table next to me there is a husband, wife and a young boy with photo signature cards of Real Madrid players. There are also a couple of older guys around me, sitting alone, dressed in sports clothes with that “I know everything about sports”attitude, glasses on top of their noses, a notepad and a pan in their hands – I think these might be old school sports journalists.

There are also a whole lot of a Muslim ladies who are waiting for their husbands to check them in the hotel dressed in gorgeous designer pieces from latest collections like Chanel, McQueen and Balmain which only a true fashionista can recognize as they are barely peeking under their long hijabs. Their husbands are wearing RL polo shirts with collars up and aviator glasses which they never take off.

Hotel staff is running around nervously and they are extra helpful and smiley today (if that can be possible since they are annoyingly super nice anyways everyday – from mine, Croatian skeptical person POV ). At the same time, in front of the hotel there are more and more people waiting in anticipation, mostly kids dressed in their football idols jerseys, couple of creepy looking fans and players entourage making a “grand” entrance one by one (friends of players who act like superstars and are very demanding, abusing hotel staff and living on the expense of their football player friends).

Tatler magazine August, 2011.

While observing all that I couldn’t help but wonder why do people idolize and spend so much time and effort trying to get close and in touch for a moment with a celebrity person be it athlete, singer, actor? They are just regular people under all of this glitz anyways. Not all of them are nice and kind, not all of them are happy.

 I understand that one would enjoy watch them play if they play well, but why do they have a need to come close to them, touch them, take photos, get their signatures or get to know them personally? Are these usually very young athletes really ready and able to be a true role models for kids? Is this culture of idolizing the character, profession and lifestyle of famous person healthy for upcoming generations? I don't really think so.

La Score

         

            Football fever is on! It is all about the World Cup!  Shakira sings about it, all media channels are totally swamped with it and for most of the men in the world life has frozen for these couple of weeks, and they are hypnotized by their TV boxes at home, computer screens at work and the smart phones on the way between the two. When poked they always answer with aha, ok, sure, I will, aha...so this might be the time ladies to get some answers/promises out of them ;)

      My company has organized a World Cup of our own in Geneva - P&G World Cup where I was also (bad idea) member of my regional team. The weather in Geneva was extremely cold; I stayed with some friends and met so many smart an extremely inspiring and successful people as one of my Slovenian colleagues, Brazilian women named Chris, German guy Daniel and even one cute Slovakian guy ;)

    We didn't play so well, I was a goalie and was very worried about playing outdoors, thankfully they gave me gloves - surely to protect my French manicured nails, I had a pink bow to match my pink jersey, sun screen was a necessity naturally as well as a lip gloss with sun protection as the sun is dangerous and can cause wrinkles and all. 

 

  

Other than playing we also partied hard with an awesome band and met some fabulous people from all over the world. Our Geneva office is very impressive and it was a pure pleasure to work there having each of the mornings start with Skinny Coconut Starbucks late and a croissant.

  This trip was really inspiring for me, after some time I could see some things more clearly. I decided to more bravely and promptly pursue some things I have been procrastinating such as the sports, dance, passion for fashion, creative expression and try to love again which I think I deserve and have been missing.

  Funny the way it is, at the same time I am back to becoming positive, creative, silly, brave and naive self I always used to be I got the email from my ex boyfriend which brought back some painful memories, but also I was very calm knowing he was ok, because no matter what happened between us, I still want all the best for him, although it seems he never really was the one for me...no matter how perfect we felt to be for each other.

   Looks like I soccer punched the feelings out of me in my pink goalie jersey on a soccer field somewhere in Geneva. After all, I am proud for I have tried and I have given my all, never gave up, fought for who I loved and after all forgave and wish him all the best. 

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

Ambrose Redmoon