Missing Mia

Whenever I would go to New York for a few days of work, Mia would take me out to her favourite places. She'd show me cute little cafés for brunch or coffee, take me to her favourite Italian restaurants, and made me discover the amazing music scene in NY. I guess she wanted me to love the city as much as she did... Last night, I was listening to some music on my iPod and suddenly heard a song by Tom Baxter, which immediately made me think of Mia. The last time I saw her in NY, she took me to the Living Room to see Norah Jones in concert and the day after we went to the Cutting Room where Tom Baxter held his first NY gig. I had never heard of him before, but we quite enjoyed the concert and both ended up buying his CD.
As I heard one of his songs yesterday, it suddenly made me feel so sad to think that the next time I go to NY Mia won't be there to share laughs with and tell me "Life....what a ride, huh?" I really miss her...

A note from John.

Mia,

So sad you had to leave, but so grateful for the wonderful memories.

My love always,
John (Father in Action)

It was a good gig.

Lestat's Coffee House—not Banjo Jim's, but cozy enough.

San Diego, CA. March 2009

Reflections.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your stories and photos of Mia. I love seeing her reflected so gloriously from so many different angles.

I unearthed my old laptop a few days ago—the one I had in the first year Mia and I were together. On this machine I found some special photos that I want to share with you here. I also have an old album with snapshots of a very young Mia and I want to post some of these. But my next postings will have to wait until mid July, when I'll return home from Europe. Over the next three weeks I'll be visiting Nina & John in Marbella, Spain—and seeing some of Mia's beloved friends there as well; next I'll be on a weeklong songwriting retreat near Perugia, Italy; after that, I'll travel to London, UK, to visit a few more dear friends before returning home to New York City.

In the meantime, please keep weaving your threads into the blog fabric, and don't forget to mark your calendars for 21 September—International Toast-to-Mia Day.

Wishing love and luck to all,
~Adam

Good News

San Diego, March 2007
There was great news that day - the smiles abound. It makes me grin to think about it. The beer wasn't strictly allowed but hey... we were celebrating!

Sharing

One of the things I love about Mia is that she always shares. Her friends, her food, her time, her thoughts, her baby cakes. She realizes as few, that things come back thousandfold when you share.

I, myself, found Mia through sharing. Her brother and my good friend, Claus, shared her contact details, when I first moved to New York. On my first day in town, I found her sitting sharing a table in Lotus in LES. She showed me the neighboor and we shared the first of many meals.

Since we as friends and neighboors in LES have shared streets, stories, stuff and stary moments as her graduation, and not least her and Adam's wedding.

We have also shared tears and tenderness.

My next door neighboor still thinks Mia is my sister. She somehow was. And I miss her as one.

The Invitaion.

Mia's mother, Nina, sent me this prose poem today. She rediscovered it amongst her e-mails from Mia, who had sent it to her in January. It comes from a book called The Invitation, by Oriah.

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me 
is true.
I want to know if you can 
disappoint another 
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life 
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone 
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Mia y Aracelly

As an angel came into my life, even though for a very short time but you help me to be a better person. You will always live in my heart.

Much love for you friend Mia

Marvellous Mia our fighting NY Gal!

I still can't even begin to find the words to express everything Mia meant to me and how much she is missed……. so I thought maybe I'd quote some of her own words... she always had such a way with them :-)

"The Sweeneys should NOT cut hair.End of story."

"I miss New York and I'm only in Brooklyn!"

"Yeahhhh man, the chapters of our lives ..As they say, "what doesn't kill you makes your book longer!" ;)"

".....i dreamt i was in australia last night .. walking to your house .. it was by a swamp with lots of wild animals and your neighbor was a black dude that lived in a shack (!!) davida was super pregnant and she wore a yellow t-shirt."

"I get cold, tired and hungry very easily!"

"...i actually saw robin williams at bagram airbase in kabul.. he wasn't particularly funny."

"First of all how impressed are you that I remembered Davida and Sam's wedding anniversary??!! I mean, did they even remember?? :)"

"I'm such a fucking rockstar! I take care of myself in a way that makes me so proud of .. me! ;)"

"Happy international women's day. Yay to all women!!: don't you just love us!!!! :) :) :) :) :)"

".........."Life's too important to be taken seriously" Oscar Wilde ;)"

(Re Eva and Mia in NY) - "We walk arm in arm and of course are a sight for sore eyes .. In the LES (Lower East Side) they say "mmm charlie's angels" but then in midtown, a bit disturbingly they called us "..lesbian bitches" .... !!!! So we ain't going back to midtown -- the lower east side is much nicer :)"

"DAVIDA is taking taking pictures.. not just pictures but GOOD pictures. Yep. People can change.. they most certainly can!"

"Come for a swim at my rooftop pool! Dammit :p"

"Weather is delicious here, I want to eat the world!!"

"Aiii the dreams .. life is full of dreams and aren't they wonderful ..
they make me feel waaarm inside!"

Love you loca xx

Mia's Garden

Joy and Sorrow

Mia always loved The Prophet by Kahil Gibran. I found myself re-reading it last week and this passage I have gone back to a few times....

‘Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.


And he answered:


Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.


And the selfsame well from which your laughter
rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.


And how else can it be?


The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.


Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?


And is not the lute that soothes you’re your spirit the very wood that was hollowed with knives?


When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.


When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.'

Mia's trees

It is amazing and inspiring at how many places in this world Mia, without any hesitation, made her home. Its was like she had lived there all her life and had known any new friends for years.
Here are some pics of a place in NYC that will for me always be Mia's street and coffee shop.
Also of Casa Jasmin her home in Spain where I was lucky enough, in younger years, too basically move into Mia's life each Summer !
One of the most special places in the world, Full of laughter, love and animals.
And the picture is a very artistic doodle Mia did for me of Puerto Banus.
In Mia's words "love you Chicalita". xx

Cups of tea and memorable moments

Beers and cups of tea were the golden liquids over which we formed a firm bond of friendship.

A few of the many things that undoubtedly everyone on here will miss sharing with you.

They were moments that were happy and all the more memorable, simply because they were shared with you.

- John

Sitting on top of the world.

Mia & Josefine, atop the London hotel. Self portrait.

West Hollywood, CA. August 2008

Celebrating Mia

Some of her friends in Geneva were able to meet last Sunday to celebrate her life, a way of saying "see you later"... we toasted to her life in a beautiful spot in Geneva (she had considered moving here -if only she hadn't loved New York soooo much), with views of the lake.

While we toasted to her life, we shared some stories and remembered her with a mixture of nostalgia, happiness, fondness and gratitude for the privilege of the moments we each had with her. I'd like to share some of these photos with you here, others in this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/tipsymuffin/tags/celebratingmiageneva/show/

Cornis, Joel O., Vinuon, Chris, Oliver, Anand & Marta.

Mia's Room in Geneva

I knew Mia for a relatively short period of time… since june 2006. That summer she spent one month in Geneva, doing an internship at UNICEF, she enjoyed it immensely, as she always wanted to work there. She lived at Javier's place (a Spanish friend and work colleague) for three weeks, then she moved into my flat for the last week, when Javier had to go to Spain at short notice. Javier had told me we would really hit it off... he told me how great she was, how special... Javier tends to exaggerate, so I did not really take him seriously until I met her and I did realize she was really one of a kind, a truly beautiful person, inspiring and energetic, with a rare quality to see the best in everyone and everything, able to make the most of every moment and every situation.

During that week, she got me to watch the last season of Sex and the City (she couldn't believe I had never followed it!!) as I lent her the first season of Desperate Housewives... we baptized the spare room in my new Geneva apartment as "Mia's room", as she was my very first guest...We shared early evening drinks by the lake, nice dinners at my favourite Geneva spots, and a couple of late night chats at home wondering what strange forces of nature had brought us together to that exact minute, grateful for the fantastic day we had just had, the great summer we were enjoying, the plans we had next -she was moving to New York, I planned to furnish my flat. She'd then go into her room and spend some more time with her inseparable Apple... writing e-mails, listening to her music... she recorded me a couple of CDs with a totally eclectic mixture of music which I loved, and I have been listening since endlessly while driving my car. As with everyone she met, we created immediately a very strong bond, I felt her always very close, we kept in touch regularly, regardless of how long it had been since we had seen each other, and I feel I shared with her very special moments in her life. I was with her in New York shortly after she moved into a lovely flat on the Lower East Side "... not very chic but hip and trendy" which she shared with Andy "...my super nice flatmate, he's just arrived from Barcelona: you'll like him", the beginnings with Adam, "he's really cool, and very cute, have seen him four evenings in a row, Marta, FOUR! and his birthday gig...that was incredible!!", he is the man who was going to become her husband...

I am deeply saddened by her loss, and my heart goes out to Adam, Nina and the rest of her family and friends. I am not sad for her, I know she wouldn't want me to.... she lived a full life, the way she wanted it, and she has left a trail of fondness, happiness, optimism, kindness, beauty and so much more in each of us. We will remember her always strong, a fighter, with her cheerful voice, big smile and her great untiring positive attitude.

Miss you Mia. Sending big hugs wherever you are.

Marta XX

Mistaken identity (February 2007)

I met Mia in Geneva through Javier and Marta back in 2006. I was heading to NYC in Feb 2007 and Marta suggested I get in touch with her. I did and we started to email each other on the upcoming trip. At the appointed time, I was waiting for her at a bar in the Lower East Side. She came in and passed by me then came back and looked at me in surprise. She asked what was I doing in NYC. Puzzled, I told her I was meeting her for drinks. She looked even more puzzled. It seems she was expecting our mutual friend who has the same name.... as soon as it dawned on her that she mistook me for the 'other' Joel we both broke out in laughter. I asked her if she was disappointed that it was me rather than the other fella. She assured me she wasn't, added with a smirk. She then asked me how I liked her new eye patch... I told her she looked as beautiful as ever... as you can see from this photo:


Love and miss you,
Joel

Mie you will be remembered for ever

Mie! You were one of the most fantastic girls I have ever met and I meet many as director for an international academy. You were brave, with a huge hearth and an incredible self motivation. You dared to be yourself, dared to follow your passion for creating a better world, you were amazing strong and could manage the most difficult obstacles with energy and a bright smile, you were a believer and a doer. In your short lifespand you managed and fulfilled your part and more to it, for helping people with difficult living conditions and you will live for ever in all those minds there have been so lucky being a part of your life even it maybe only was for a few minuttes. Why you should leave us many years to early can only God answer. I must me true that angels only are here for a short visit. Mie you were an angel. God bless you were ever you are now. You are deeply missed and have for ever had a great impact in many lives.
Love from Helle

Det største lille lys i verden

Sorry all you non-Danish guys, but this is in Danish

Kære Mie

Du er her ikke mere nu, og det er et kæmpe tab for os – for mig. Der er selvfølgelig andre så som din mor og mange andre, der føler tabet endnu kraftigere, fordi de stod dig tættere og har været samme med dig den sidste tid, men for mig har du lige siden du var en lille bitte pige været et lille lys, der kunne brænde med en ubeskrivelig styrke. Mie, du har været i mine tanker oftere end du aner. Tilmed hos min lille datter vakte du et stærkt lys. Hun taler ofte om dig, og hun lyser op, hver gang hun nævner dit navn.

Men ud over at være et lys for os andre, håber jeg virkelig også, at du selv havde et godt liv her blandt os. Det tror jeg du havde. Du var en af de stærkeste fightere, jeg nogensinde har mødt. Du har mødt modgang som kun få, men hver gang holdt du hovedet højt og angreb din modgang frontalt med oprejst pande – og sejrede. Du havde et fantastisk dejligt og lyst sind og du fandt det positive i selv den sværeste situation. For at citere dig selv i den sidste mail, du skrev til mig: ”Men livet er sku for sejt til at gemme sig fra, ikke sandt?” – og det var 8 dage før du døde. Du gav ikke op. Du blev bare aldrig givet et valg. Og nu er du her ikke mere.

Mange vil nok sige, at du har levet et helt liv på under den halve tid. Men du skulle have levet meget længere. Det sku du. Du om nogen havde fortjent at sidde på verandaen i din gyngestol og se ud over verden og sige: ”Se, det er min!” For verden var din baghave, og du havde det godt med at boltre dig i den.

Den sidste tid har nok været den længste og sværeste kamp, du har kæmpet. Og jeg er sikker på, at hvis den kamp overhovedet kunne vindes, så havde du været hende, der kunne vinde den. Jeg er sikker på, at du i de sidste år og måneder har snydt døden gang på gang og vist din oprejste pande til hans grusomme ansigt. Visse slag kan desværre ikke vindes, og denne kamp var ikke bare ulige. Den var uvindelig.

Men alligevel har du på en måde vundet, lille Mie. For selvom dit jordiske lys nu er slukket vil det altid brænde inden i mig.

Og mine børn og børnebørn – og hvem der ellers vil høre mine historier – skal høre historien om den lille fantastiske pige, som betød så meget for så mange. Jeg ville ønske, at alle de, jeg fortæller historien til, kunne møde dig og ved selvsyn føle varmen og lyset.

I mine øjne vil du altid være den lille pige. Min lille pige. Mit lille lys.


Nicolas