Category Archives: My Life

About Malta, Crazy Outbursts, My articles / researches, My Life, Steffi Says

Bikers in Traffic

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I love bikes; I think they are gorgeous and I admire each and every one of the bikers who pluck up the courage to drive in Malta and Gozo.

In case you have never visited Malta, or never driven in Malta… Maltese roads are hell to drive in… Not even the devil himself dares to set his foot here and drive in this pit of danger and death. Angry, irrational drivers, chaos of traffic and to top it all shitty bumpy roads throughout the islands. (Sometimes I wonder why we pay the driving license to be honest!!)

Considering all the above, would it make more sense, to have some kind of rule/law enforced with regards to which side of the motor-lane a bike should drive in? Should bikes overtake or undertake? I’m thinking that this would help everyone on the road, as all car-drivers can pay some special added attention to that side of the road via the mirrors, and hopefully the bikers will also feel slightly safer on our roads… Especially during the peak hours of traffic, namely 7 to 9 am and 5 to 6 pm, when everyone wants to get to work/home and all the main roads are packed and crammed with cars. Zigzagging around cars is not the way to go in these circumstances.

Crazy Outbursts, Lessons Learned, My Life, Steffi Says

Appreciate the good things in life

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Sometimes, when I am struggling with life or I’m just having a hard time, I try to write down what I’m going through. Other times, I try to focus my thoughts on the good things I have in life.

I will share this with you, in the hopes that you will realise that there’s more to life than bad things… Sure, we spend most of our life thinking about what went wrong, or how bad we have it… and what about that damn bad luck or bad timing? But if you fight it, good things can be achieved like…

  • Having a good relationship with your family
  • Having friends that you can count on day in, day out (I don’t have many, but that’s ok! Quality over quantity)
  • Appreciating the little thing
  • Having a job
  • Being able to afford a roof over your head and a daily meal on the table
  • Being able to pay the bills at the end of the month
  • Being your own person, even if this make others cringe… Embrace yourself!
  • Being a decent cook
  • Owning two naughty but loving cats
  • The ability to drive a car and go places (unless the roads are flooding because of heavy rain!)
  • Affording to go on holiday every once in a while
  • Making random people or strangers happy with a simple act of kindness
  • Owning your own little house
  • Being creative in my own way…. through photography
  • Being able to listen to live music and talk with people over a few drinks (Sounds simple, but some of us don’t have the privilege)
  • Volunteering in a charity shop
  • Having that one person (or more!) in your life, that will always make you smile… no matter what you are going through

Surely this is not all…. I’m only getting started 😉

My articles / researches, My Life, People worth Remembering, Steffi Says

Inspirational BlogPost: Meet Otu, a guy of many talents

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Sometimes, there is no better way in getting inspiration than watching a couple of YouTube videos to help you feel better, man up and keep moving forward in life.

Today, I will share with you the person who made me smile yesterday, and who has made me realise that I should keep persisting in getting what I want, and make my dreams come true.

Meet Otu, a guy of many talents
Credit: Youtube/ Otu Channel

The name is Olli Suurmunne from Finland. He owns his own YouTube channel by the name ‘Otu Channel’. This guy has a disability; He was born with a deformed left hand.. yet he is able to do more than an average person does or achieves in a lifetime.

Why?

Because he never saw his defected hand as an obstacle. He works hard, and he has positive results.

He can play the keyboard, guitar, he sings, solves the rubic’s cube in under a minute… he makes amazing digital artwork… He designs, composes and makes games.

Without further ado, this video is what made my heart pounding, what inspired me:

And this is a fun video of the guy singing and impersonating various well known singers:

One of his bands, where he does guitars, vocals (clean, throat singing):


Ending this blog post with Otu’s own words: “Keep your head high and keep chasing those dreams of yours because I’m sure as hell, will be chasing mine.”

More info on his blog: Olli Suurmunne

Cardiff, Events, Experiences Abroad, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says, Wales

Doctor Who Experience

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It has been an awful long time since I wrote something on here… and I am blaming life and lack of inspiration on this. I have been finding it extremely difficult to find time to focus and write something interesting. More so, because in my free time I try to relax a bit, edit a few photos from my holidays in June and July or watch TV Series.

So, I thought, I should review one of the places I have been to while in Cardiff. Let’s start with the Doctor Who Experience… because, why the hell not? 🙂

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We made our way to the Doctor Who Experience on the first day of the holiday. Actually, it was oudw1r first activity after we checked into our hotel. We were staying in Cardiff Bay, so you would think that it was straightforward to locate the BBC venue. Truth be told, we were slightly distracted with the amazing views of the bay and the surrounding, and it took us longer than expected to get there.

But once we did, I had a huge grin on my face. I couldn’t believe I have finally made it… It has been five years since I made up my mind that I should visit this place! We had already purchased our tickets online, so we simply waited for our time-slot and off we went in. The first half of the experience was very interactive and fun. It was the best part of it, in my opinion, however we were not allowed to take photos or videos as not to spoil this for other visitors. Granted, it made sense… but I wish I have captured that moment when I walked in the Weeping Angel’s cemetery or when I flew the Tardis.

Some photos taken outside and around the museum:

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I would definitely return here eventually and would recommend it to all Whovians out there! 🙂

Crazy Outbursts, My Life, Steffi Says

Power-Loss

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Date of entry 06/08/2015 circa 18:00hrs

The joy of being an aspiring writer or a blogger, is to enjoy scribbling no matter what the situation is.
So here I am writing… during a nation wide power cut, trying to make the most of it.

While I was driving, from my place of work in Ta’ Xbiex all the way to Siggiewi, I was thinking to myself…. I will explain better; I drove through Ta’ Xbiex, Msida, Pieta, Blata l-Bajda, Hamrun…. through which, none of the traffic lights were working. All the cars were driving aimlessly towards one another like it is no one’s business to make it across to the other side of the road. I saw cars becoming a version of a roundabout, and people crossing the busy roads between 17:00 and 18:00 frantically, as if life or death did not matter to them at all.

With this in mind, here are my proposals:

  1. Arterial Traffic Lights should be connected to not just one electricity grid; Meaning, if one electricity source fails, they would not collapse, but use a second source, be it from Delimara Power Station, the Malta-Italy Interconnector and so on.
  2. Invest in Solar Powered Traffic Lights – We boast that we have 300 days of sunshine a year in Malta… why are we not taking advantage of this? I have read that we have a fair amount of solar powered road lights, so why not traffic lights? I am sure that this will help keep these little islands of ours in order during power cuts and more!

solar traffic light

Music, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says

Of Music Talents & Dreams

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Today I came across the coolest of videos. In fact, this was shared with me by a colleague since I am into rock / metal music. He thought, it was something I would appreciate.

Boy, was he right.

The video features a group called ‘Rockin1000’, which is made up of 1,000 rockers and metalheads; 1,000 musicians to be exact. The music video was aimed to 5 specific people: Chris, Nate, Pat, Taylor and Dave.
If you have not guessed already, these 5 people make up the band Foo Fighters. Yes you heard me!!

You are warned… this will bring you to tears…

Watch the video here:


Needless to say, this has been viewed more than 5 times…. In fact on day 4, they are already at 12,000,000 views!! Wow.

Lo and behold, Dave Grohl replied to their video (only 1 day later!)… and not only this, but he spoke in Italian (English captions available) because this is the nationality of Rockin1000! Isn’t he nice, or what?

This inspires me…
1) It is good to dream………
2) Dreams can come true……………
3) Work hard, you can achieve it!

England, Experiences Abroad, London, My Life, Reviews, Series, Steffi Says

Baker Street Lovin’

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When I was a teenager, I was fascinated by London.
I was even more overwhelmed when I discovered that in London, there was an alternative town by the name of Camden. Every time I visited England, I had to spend a day there shopping until I run out of money. When I moved to England in 2011, London become the least attractive place for me to visit. Sure there were a lot of shops and activities going on, but it was too busy and hectic for my liking. I would go down to London for a major gig or to meet friends who were visiting; but would not bother with it at all otherwise.

But this year, everything has changed.
I had to go back to London for one specific reason: AC/DC.
Any heavy metal fan would know that AC/DC are touring again, and considering their age, it would most likely be the last time (I hope I am wrong!). But this was the sole reason why I step foot in London again, after 3 odd years.

While I was there, I had to fulfill one huge dream which unbelievably I did not do even though I visited the city countless times.

Baker Street

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I would like to think, that if you are reading this, you know where I’m going with this.

Well, geeky Steffi… geeky TV Series.
Hello Sherlock Holmes:

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Did you know that 221b, Baker Street is the world’s most Googled address?

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Waiting for Sherlock outside the door
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Sherlock’s store
About Malta, Crazy Outbursts, Malta, My Life, Steffi Says

Tea in Summer

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I think, a cuppa is my favourite non-alcoholic drink.

A side note for my foreign followers and readers:
Maltese Summer, especially August, is very hardcore; In the sense, it is very, very hot and humid. Imagine, a temperate of 35 degrees and 80+% humidity on a daily basis. That would feel like 40 to 45 degrees. Add onto that hot ‘desert’ wind to it. Although it might be nice for a week holiday, I’d say in my honest opinion is a nightmare to live in.

All the above, does not really put me off tea… I still feel the need for my morning tea with biscuits, afternoon tea and another right before I go to bed. The only issue is that is too warm for this.

I have tried bottled ice tea and home made ice tea… but this does not satisfy me as well as my tea with milk, or chocolate and coconut flavoured tea!

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So, every morning, I make my tea, and drink it right in front of the fan, while I sweat like a pig…
The sweat is not by choice…
But living without tea, is just not for me.

My articles / researches, My Life, Steffi Says

Perfect Imperfections

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Sometimes, we refer to a person or an object as ‘perfect’… But truth be told, nothing can be perfect. In order for something to be perfect, everyone needs to believe it is. We are all individuals (lets forget the sheep-people for this example), which means that we all have our own preferences and perceptions on things.

perfection is a myth

The definition of perfect, is something which has all the desirable requirements, qualities and characteristics one needs. It is the absolute, it cannot get any better.
On this, I would add, that in terms of objects, technology is always advancing. Meaning, what is ‘perfect’ or top notch today, will not be tomorrow…

Perfect, is not truly perfect.
It is perfect only in our own eyes or minds.
It’s a perfect imperfection.

perfect imperfectinsWe simply tolerate some things which we would otherwise despair on, because we convince ourselves that this problem is not important enough to bring us down, or ruin our relationship. Or perhaps, we love the person or the object so much, that we are blinded from its defects.

A beautiful thing, is never perfect.. We were born to be different, to make a(n) (good) impact on each other’s life… Make history!

Perfection (as is beauty) is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?

Crazy Outbursts, My Life, Steffi Says

Why so stupid, when I talk to someone I like?

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What is it when you start liking someone, you become so stupid when you are around them? It is not something you do on purpose, it just cannot be helped… It’s like your brain wires are all mixed up, and you just want to make a fool of yourself.

Well; not really. I definitely want to sound cool and want to look awesome in their eyes.

So, I see this guy that I like, and he says ‘hi’. I say ‘hey’ back, my voice didn’t even come out properly. It sounded like a croak.
Lovely, I say to myself. I haven’t talked to this guy for a few days, and even my voice betrays me.

After the awkward silence, he asked how I’m doing, to which I replied that I was great, since I’m done from work for the day. He said that the feeling is mutual.

Hello again, awkward silence.

So, I thought, the weather topic was quite inappropriate since it was too obvious. So, what do I tell this guy? I ask him about work.

Could I sound any more boring?
Funny.

When the words have run out again, I look down at my feet, I tried to pull out a smile, and said ‘Okay, bye!’

-stupid

What is wrong with me? I seriously need help!!