Oh, genius...

I turned 21 years of age in July of 2017, this year, not long ago and yet, it feels like it was an eternity ago. Since July, either I've been going to both my favourite bars or recently one more, the one I disliked on my birthday. It ain't that bad when you know people who work there. 

Each bar I go to is quite unique, different from one another which makes it difficult to only choose one. Everyone knows each other, and you become familiar to people who work at each place. Even become friend with a few. Get phone numbers and an amazing time cause despite what people say, some people are actually quite interesting.  
What I do best is people watch, analyze whoever I fancy, who attracts my eyes. 
As a writer, I take my ideas from daily life, from people I watch at bars, from work ( thank you to a number of stupid customers I have to deal with). And most of the time, I get disappointed by how idiotic people can act.  It's just painful to see how people react and when they open their mouths, what comes out is the trash... 

What I found amusing is the fact that people don't know how to drink and be themselves. It's one of the differences I have with many of them. I'm not going to pretend anything, say what the other person wants to hear, and usually, I make more enemies than friends. It doesn't stop me from being myself though... And it seems like I'm appreciated for it. 
For example, I was sitting at the bar eating some fries and talking to my friend who was working in front of me.  A young woman in her late twenties was standing beside me with a tall guy in his mid-thirties on the other side. They were conversing quite loud so I couldn't help but hear the conversation even though it was rather boring in my opinion. I kept wondering what these two had in common... So I kept listening, wondering, analyzing the best I could. He was barely paying attention to her as his eyes wandered around the room a little too much, staring at women across the room. She kept continuing with her speech which wasn't interesting at all. 
When someone doesn't seem interested you either stop talking or change the subject. It wasn't the case in this situation. 

Then I looked again at both of them, he was tall, fit, well dressed while she looked basic, a lot of makeup, mini dress where we could have seen everything if she bent down. Either she is the easy girl who wants to marry a rich husband, or she is the opposite, a little too serious and thought she would have an enjoyable time by dressing so poorly. Either way, it was funny to watch. 
Another example which I see quite often between one person to the next is the " same thing" type of person. This time, a guy was sitting behind me with a young woman, both drinking vodka mules, probably on a date, and both seem like they were enjoying themselves. Throughout the hour they were sitting at the table, their conversation was more than ordinary, nothing alarming except one slight detail... Everything they had to say to each other was " same with me" or " I can't believe you listen to them as well". 

Don't get me wrong, many of us have similarities but to have everything in common is quite rare. Don't you want to be unique? Be liked for who you are and not because you have common grounds with the other person? Neither of them showed their real personalities which made me wonder if a relationship which starts like this one ever go far. 
I might not show much enthusiasm when sitting at the bar, drinking, but I'm far from being fake. I don't hide who I am, why would I? Where will it lead me? So at the end, not many will talk to me, not many will show their interest in me, but I will have shown what a genuine person looks like.

"It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone." -Hans F Hansen

~Bella

Roommates situation!

Story short, I decided to move out from my mum's place when she moved into a new place herself!

No, I'm not trying to stay away from anyone, especially family members, but the opportunity came along, might as well catch it while it's there. 

I moved out to move in with roommates, close enough to work as well as downtown. Perfect for me as I love to walk places. 

Now, before moving in, the room search was beyond stressful, and I cannot describe it to you. If you have been in this situation, where you have to look for a place, you will understand what I mean. 

Looking for a place to move into is one of the most stressful time. I actually hated it, made me anxious half the time, frustrated all the time, and the lack of sleep became frequent! Don't get me wrong, I do worry, get anxious most of the time, but this situation was highly different, made me think about it all, about my decisions! 

The frustration part of it all is the obvious lack of response that many decided to ignore! Responding to people is a respectful, honorable act. I will have the benefit of the doubt when I know that sometimes, it happens, emails get thrown into the spam section, and we don't always look in the box, and again the internet may malfunction. 

After a month or two, I started feeling hopeless, out of energy, stressing over the little things, procrastinating on cleaning everything, making boxes, clearing my room, finding a home for my kittens... Then I receive a message from one person explaining how I could come visit! You can't imagine how happy I was until I actually saw the place, saw what it was all about. Nothing great, on the contrary, it was a catastrophe. There was no way I would have moved in with so many people in the same room (only one girl, the rest of them were guys). Depression came quickly after, making me even more anxious about the situation. I had no answers after that one except a young girl telling me about her moving out of the apartment where she was sharing it with other girls. No option, but to go, meet her and see the place.
It was cute from outside, smelled like someone was smoking inside the living room, but cute rooms, messy but cute. It had its charm so I kept in touch and got the room, but wanted to be all good with paperwork. Sadly, the office isn't the perfect place to get paperwork done. I waited for three weeks in order to move in the place, and yet, I don't have anything when it comes paperwork. How fancy, right? I still can't believe I'm off track with my file.

At the end, I live in a cute place, big enough to have lots of people live in, and not too far from my work which is perfect for me. I get along with most of the people living around, and half of the time, I'm rather too busy doing my own things to even talk to many of them, sadly. There is also a kitten which manages to come along and snuggle to wake you up or to annoy you! 

Having found a place to live, even if it's temporary, is hard, complex to say the least,  but when you arrive at the point in your life where you are with amazing roommates then everything is fine!

"What I love most about my home is who I share it with." 

~Bella

Beautiful names and their meanings...

We all have a name, some love it, others would have preferred to be named something else... My name, as many have told me is either Germanic or Italian, it means beautiful but also a beautiful serpent. Sadly, names originate from a certain place, but over time, other meanings take place, other countries to it for their own, and well, nowaday, it is difficult to know where our name come from and what it means. Names are given to us by our parents, grandparents, family members, another person. We don't choose it, and curiosity may happen, completely normal if you are quite the curious one as myself. You may dislike your name, dislike the fact that you have been given a family name, generation after generation, but a name is personal, it's us, it has a meaning. Our name comes from somewhere, the person that named you had reasons to name you the way they did. Sadly,

they don't always make the best choice, sometimes names just happen to be given because of a popular celebrity, a professional athlete, a song, a movie character... I, personally, rarely use my name, usually, my nickname comes up more often, Bella is just a nickname that I got when I was at the airport by two Italians who called me, Bella. Since that day at the airport, I used it, simple enough for people to say and remember. I like it better than my name but I ain't going to change it even if I had the chance to do so.
Since I've been writing my novel, I've been into names, looking to get the best names for novel characters.
I went through many lists, many books, went back in past family names. Took a while to go through them all, but I fell in love with a few names. I thought I would share the list in case you need name ideas for future kids or if you need to write an essay and cannot write the personal name.

Let's start with the boy names...

Owen-  Irish
Young, warrior, well-born, noble... This wonderful, intriguing name is becoming very popular... One of my favourite names, actually...
Matteo- Italian 
A variation of Matthew which means Gift of God. My mother's friend actually named her son, Matteo, written differently, but it really got me interested in seeing the name spelled in different countries. Matteo is a common name back in Italy, which also happens to be one of my favourite countries! 
Mattia- Italian 
Another variation of Matteo... Italians love their "A". Also, means Gift of God. 
Shawn-Irish
Derived from Sean, an Irish cognate of John, the name means God is gracious. 
Luca- Italian
I know another Italian names but can't get enough of them. Many forms of Luca came up, but this one seems to catch my eye a bit more. It means Light. 
Alexander- Swedish/ Greek
This name as many origins making it difficult to choose one country, the name means, "Defender of Man", "Tough". I'm in love with the name, got it from a Swedish actor who plays in True Blood. 
Damon-Greek
According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived in Syracuse in the 4th century B.C.
The story goes on about Pythias being sentenced to death, but he was allowed to temporarily go free if Damon took his place in prison. Damon means "To Tame". 
Espen- Norwegian (Scandinavian)
God Bear... Strong and unusual name that many of us misspell... No, it has nothing to do with the sports network, ESPN. 
Mark- English/ British with Latin roots
"Consecrated to the God Mars" or "God of War".
Common derived name from Marcus which was one of the three most common given name in Ancient Rome. 
Conor- Irish
Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Conchobhar which means "dog lover" or "wolf lover". Use in Ireland for centuries, kings got the privilege to be called that way. Many legends have the Gaelic name in, but when Conor came into the place, Ireland adopted it. 

Girls names...

Valentina- Italian
Feminine form of Valentine, a saint's name. The meaning of this name is, "strength", "health". The Latin root Valentinus which is derived from Valens (strong, vigorous, powerful). 
Gwendolyn- Celtic/Welsh/ Breton
A variation of Gwendolen. A quite popular name in the United Sates even though it is pretty Celtic. 
Elowen- Irish/Cornish
Meaning "ELM"
The name is pronounced ehl-OWWaaN or EHL-owWehN. Can be used for girls and boys, but I prefer it for a girl. It wasn't given much before the twentieth century, and I still haven't met anyone with this name...
Rose- Norman/ Germanic
Latin roots "rosa", the original form of a German name, "Hrodheid", composed of the words Hrod (fame) and Heid (kind). When I think of this name I go straight to the movie Titanic, bad idea, but yet I still do it. But many will go for the flower. 
Elaina-Greek
Elaine which is the Old French form of Helen, the name of the famous beauty of the Trojan War story in Greek mythology. There are many forms of Elaina throughout the world, but this one stands out most. 
Thyra-Norwegian (Scandinavian)
Feminine name in honor of the Norse god of War, Tyr. Pretty uncommon name, but it's original, unique and you fall for it...
Davina-Scottish
Beloved or friend, it is the feminine name of David, adopted from the Hebrew. It has some kind of love into the name... 
Klara- Czech
Clear, bright, famous... Many derived names, many forms, and I opted for this one, thought about my favourite Disney movie... 
Alena-Celtic
The name of Alena is, Fair, good-looking. Feminine of Allen or variant of Helen.
Colleen-Irish
From the Irish Cailin meaning "girl" and used by the Irish in the USA and Australia as a way of connecting to their Irish roots. 

Every name is special in their own ways, it may not be original, but it's yours and you make it special, unique! Don't be like me and disliking your name, always going for the nickname, make your name stand out! 

"Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any languages."- Dale Carnegie

~Bella
Ps: I won't stop myself from writing the British way, I have a few things that I like to spell that way, so please do not judge!