I hope you caught the beat. Sing it to My Sharona, but it is dadadada dum dum MY PERSONA!

There you go. Good job.

Just hoppin’ back on to say, my persona has changed! For the better. For years now, ever since I moved to Europe whenever I have to introduce myself the comeback is always “Ahh, like Kim Basinger”. And I politely smile and nod, yes, like Kim Basinger, but not really.  And last week I took my students (that I teach English to), to a movie. And on the drive, with 5 of us squished into an Audi TT, one of them said “Kim”. I answered yes? And then my newest student, Tony, said “Like Kim Possible”.

 YES! Exactly like Kim Possible – fashionista, cheerleader, straight- (er) A student, and super secret agent. Yup, that’s me.

I am constantly asked the question : “How did an American girl from Oklahoma end up living on the island of Mallorca with a German boyfriend?”. Well, the answer is simple really. It was fate. Do you believe in fate? Because I do. I would never be here if I had not made plans to see my friend in Vegas when I was there for work.  And I would never be here if my job had not taken me to Vegas. And I would not be here if I did not decide, what the hell, just go to the wedding. It might be fun.

Seeing my friend at the roulette table, we placed chips on our favorite numbers, ordered a bloody mary and tried to catch up. It was difficult, trying to concentrate on what numbers were calling my name and on my friend telling me how in love she was and that I must come to the wedding.  I would love to, I said. Knowing full and well that it really depended on my time available. My job had become out of control. They were constantly flying me to places to shoot videos and I was spending late nights and unfortunately, weekends, in the office.  When the date finally came around I decided to take the weekend off, visit my cousin, some friends in D.C. and go to the wedding.

My date to the wedding was my friends two year old son. He was a good date, didn’t complain when I danced with other men and let me smoke as many cigarettes as I wanted…as long as I stayed far away from him when doing so. The ceremony had been underway for a good ten minutes when a group of four snuck in late. It was hard to miss them, the wedding was small and outside so if you were late, you were busted. Alas, I had heard the Germans would be there but I wasn’t interested. A complicated relationship had ended a few months ago and getting into a new serious relationship was not on my radar. But after a few cocktails I asked the bride again, who was that cute guy she introduced me to earlier? Within seconds, it was, K this is The German, The German this is K. And I guess I can say, it was true love at second sight. I dont believe that crap about love at first sight anyways, you always need a second glance. He sang a lullabye to my date and then we exchanged numbers. He was heading to Miami, FL for a fun boys weekend and I, back to work. I hoped to hear from him again but knew after a night in Miami, my chances were limited.

I was living in the fan-fucking-tastic city of Manhattan and when I returned home my answering machine light was blinking. Naturally, I had been away for three days so of course I, being miss social, would have some messages. And to my delight and surprise,  The German was one of them. We dated long distance for six months (with me, a visit to Germany and him, a visit to NYC) and then I decided to leave my job of inappropriate comments from older men in my world of advertising and go to a completely different realm of life. I moved to Germany the day before Christmas with all of my belongings, including my bike and snowboard, piled around my feet. It was just the beginning.