last night we were driving in salerno. not in the very centre, but still in a crowded neighbourhood. we were in front of a school. basically, here.
and we find a cow. at first we didn't believe it was real. why should a cow be parked between two cars?
that's when reality starts being so absurd you think it's fake. you don't expect a cow there, then it can't be real. but no xmas decoration explanation made any sense for that cow's arse. so we drive back and check.
it's a real cow, alive and eating from the garbage. with the saddest face i ever saw on a cow.
and i start wondering, in what kind of country do i live?
and again reality breaks down, and i feel like i'm in the promo i saw of the documentary about the garbage business in acerra ("biutiful cauntri", see prev post) with the sheep grazing in a garbage dump. so i feel i'm in that film, actually it's not reality breaking down because it's a documentary about real stuff. as a matter of fact, that's reality. a documentary movie with no distribution is reality, and we just happen to live in a fake, not even accurate imitation of it. and unless you find a cow searching for food in the garbage, you tend to forget about it.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
merry xmas and green washing
in this cloudy xmas day in salerno apparently i didn't find anything better to do than browsing the net looking for information about the worst european lobbys and their pr efforts to look nice and environmentalist...
and so i found this video, which i cannot embed here but here is the link: Gruenes Image dank guter PR
it's from the zdf website and it's in german, but am proud to say i nearly understood everything!
so may you all have a merry xmas and beware of greenwashing!
and so i found this video, which i cannot embed here but here is the link: Gruenes Image dank guter PR
it's from the zdf website and it's in german, but am proud to say i nearly understood everything!
so may you all have a merry xmas and beware of greenwashing!
Monday, December 24, 2007
vigilia a salerno, or: when grannies get young again
here i am, back home.
home is salerno, south of italy. small nice city by the sea. maybe overcrowded with extremely dull people, but still plenty of lovely folks :)
speaking of dull... on xmas eve (vigilia) the local tradition is to scroll the whole day on the very very long pedestrian area (reminds of the hauptstrasse?? but ours's nicer!) and finish xmas shopping and meet everybody you know. and just eat a bite so when you go back home in the late afternoon you're ready for the big dinner.
i think i started hating this tradition when i was still at school. but when you're living outside for most of the year, you kind of feel it's somehow nice. even though you keep bumping into people you have no clue about anymore, and that's the best case, while the worst scenario is you meet someone really unbearable and find yourself mysteriously wishing them all the best for xmas and new year...
but still, once per year you can do it.
but apparently this year people are younger and younger (inside and outside) and feel they really want to party on xmas eve. so all the fancy bars have sound systems outside and dance music spreading all over the place. and since on our pedestrian there's a fancy bar every ten metres, the decibel amount of the whole area is huuuge!
and me and my mates, we're not young anymore. but even when we were younger, we were already feeling old. so we are looking for a quiet place to grab a bite and maybe a glass of wine and quietly speak with each other. but with me hobbling because of stupid sprain in the knee it's not really easy to escape from the crowded area.
so... we find ourselves sitting outside one of the youngest bars in the place, with unz unz music coming out and young people everywhere... and that's just because we are so old and wanted to get a seat!! (and obviously also because the plates full of food coming with the drinks looked extremely yummy...)
without any morality left, the grannies have become young again :)
[video coming soon]
home is salerno, south of italy. small nice city by the sea. maybe overcrowded with extremely dull people, but still plenty of lovely folks :)
speaking of dull... on xmas eve (vigilia) the local tradition is to scroll the whole day on the very very long pedestrian area (reminds of the hauptstrasse?? but ours's nicer!) and finish xmas shopping and meet everybody you know. and just eat a bite so when you go back home in the late afternoon you're ready for the big dinner.
i think i started hating this tradition when i was still at school. but when you're living outside for most of the year, you kind of feel it's somehow nice. even though you keep bumping into people you have no clue about anymore, and that's the best case, while the worst scenario is you meet someone really unbearable and find yourself mysteriously wishing them all the best for xmas and new year...
but still, once per year you can do it.
but apparently this year people are younger and younger (inside and outside) and feel they really want to party on xmas eve. so all the fancy bars have sound systems outside and dance music spreading all over the place. and since on our pedestrian there's a fancy bar every ten metres, the decibel amount of the whole area is huuuge!
and me and my mates, we're not young anymore. but even when we were younger, we were already feeling old. so we are looking for a quiet place to grab a bite and maybe a glass of wine and quietly speak with each other. but with me hobbling because of stupid sprain in the knee it's not really easy to escape from the crowded area.
so... we find ourselves sitting outside one of the youngest bars in the place, with unz unz music coming out and young people everywhere... and that's just because we are so old and wanted to get a seat!! (and obviously also because the plates full of food coming with the drinks looked extremely yummy...)
without any morality left, the grannies have become young again :)
[video coming soon]
Monday, December 17, 2007
1984 in the google era
i just found a very nice story written by Cory Doctorow, who apparently is a blogger, writer and journalist and writes nice stuff:
here is an italian translation for lazy people, which i found on nazione indiana, where i actually found out about the story in the first place (great source of information that site):
Scroogled (in italiano)
here is an italian translation for lazy people, which i found on nazione indiana, where i actually found out about the story in the first place (great source of information that site):
Scroogled (in italiano)
Friday, December 14, 2007
a beautiful country??
i just found out about a movie, a documentary, that has just been released in italy:
Biutiful cauntri
it's about the situation of the garbage in campania, the region in italy where i come from. the situation is really tough, and has been so for more than 10 years now.
i am nobody to speak about that, because i left the place and because i don't know so many things. but i can spot who really has something to say about it. and from the 3 minute promo i saw on the internet, i can say that this movie is worth being seen.
i haven't seen it though, it was only projected at the film festival in torino one month ago, and still got no distribution. which is no surprise obviously.
but i am damn curious about watching it. not only for the things i could learn from it. those you can always look for in some official documents. i mean, these products like the book "gomorrah" or movies like this one, they don't really say unknown things. it's more like they state the obvious. what's so obvious that we tend to forget.
and they do have the merit to broaden the audience who might be interested in such issues.
that's why i am curious about "biutiful cauntri". it looks like good stuff. i want to see it and confirm what i thought after watching the trailer: a movie like this should be screened on national tv at 20:00 for a whole week! and maybe distributed in schools and offices, and public discussion should follow.
as for now, i will just start looking for the authors hoping that i will be able at least to have a look at it...
Biutiful cauntri
it's about the situation of the garbage in campania, the region in italy where i come from. the situation is really tough, and has been so for more than 10 years now.
i am nobody to speak about that, because i left the place and because i don't know so many things. but i can spot who really has something to say about it. and from the 3 minute promo i saw on the internet, i can say that this movie is worth being seen.
i haven't seen it though, it was only projected at the film festival in torino one month ago, and still got no distribution. which is no surprise obviously.
but i am damn curious about watching it. not only for the things i could learn from it. those you can always look for in some official documents. i mean, these products like the book "gomorrah" or movies like this one, they don't really say unknown things. it's more like they state the obvious. what's so obvious that we tend to forget.
and they do have the merit to broaden the audience who might be interested in such issues.
that's why i am curious about "biutiful cauntri". it looks like good stuff. i want to see it and confirm what i thought after watching the trailer: a movie like this should be screened on national tv at 20:00 for a whole week! and maybe distributed in schools and offices, and public discussion should follow.
as for now, i will just start looking for the authors hoping that i will be able at least to have a look at it...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
let's add some links
ok, i arrived at the point that i really have so many bookmarks, so many links, so many things i would like to share with other people, that i should at least prepare a list of links...
i know nobody ever considers my blog so i am going to share them with myself... but still it will be practical, when i want to read something again and again!
i know nobody ever considers my blog so i am going to share them with myself... but still it will be practical, when i want to read something again and again!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
losing perspective (and stuff btw)
well, it all started less than one week ago.
well, probably things started not really working properly a bit earlier. like things that did not really make sense started like 9-10 days ago. like destille signs. but that's another story.
so, last sunday i leave hd, didn't really want to but kind of had to. went to a winter school my institute sort of organised. could not avoid going. still some destille signs during the journey, like rushing to get the train while still literally packing, like catching the train in munich by a miracle in spite of the 1h coincidence, and other stuff like that. want to vomit on the bus up the mountains. but then i arrive to this village in the middle of nowhere, well in the middle of the alps but also nowhere, and things start looking better. nice people, a lot of snow, didn't expect it at this time of the year. start going to the lectures, they're fine, then get skipass, skis and boots, start going down the slopes... and it's lovely, nobody is around because it's still not peak season, and there is a lot of snow...
and then just after a couple of hours i just fall, like it never happened to me, and i hear crack. shit. total fear.
i still don't know what's wrong, something with my knee. no broken bone, that should be sure. hopefully no broken ligament, but this still need be checked. since then i am not supposed to walk. ten days of rest. which is killing me, even though i'm not really resting. i did not rest at the school, wanted at least attend classes. so i was begging all the time people to drive me 300 m to the conference hall, jumping on crutches all over the place... i was just starting getting tired of that, but really tired, and i found out i have a fever, but a really strong one, like 39 C... and my throat is full of crap so i'm also on antibiotics...
so finally yesterday i manage to escape from that teeny place in the middle of nowhere and after a long and perilous journey, on buses, trains, flight and obviously crutches!! after being checked at the airport because my orthopedic device beeped, after everything... i am finally back in my room and no fever and i can finally sleep well and have sweet dreams again!!
it's still a mess to jump around and bother people all the time, but still, i think i'll have to do it for a while. don't know, feels weird the idea of having to stay rest for a while. even though i know i have to, it's the only way to recover.
so i'm losing perception. i'm losing the whole framework. i was kind of trying to sort out things, and now i cannot even tide up my room, which by the way is a mess.
and i lost several small things too, which don't really matter but altogether it's another sign: one sock, one ball from the piercing, two hanging thingies from my mobile, and today another earing.
what is nature trying to tell me with all this?? what?? slow down?? (with what?? me?? not really the most frantic girl in town...) relax?? focus on something?? what??
or maybe i should just do what rob is suggesting me:
"This would be an excellent time for you to visit terminally ill patients in a hospice or go on a tour of a maximum security prison. To take maximum advantage of the current cosmic opportunities, you might also travel to the Slum Theme Park in Americus, Georgia, where Habitat for Humanity has built replicas of the leaky-roofed, earthen-floored, bug-infested huts that so many millions of the world's poor call home. In other words, Aries, I recommend that you give yourself firsthand exposure to people whose problems are much more demanding than yours. To do so at this juncture in your life's journey would provide a helpful shock that would inspire you to conquer the personal challenge you find most daunting. "
well, probably things started not really working properly a bit earlier. like things that did not really make sense started like 9-10 days ago. like destille signs. but that's another story.
so, last sunday i leave hd, didn't really want to but kind of had to. went to a winter school my institute sort of organised. could not avoid going. still some destille signs during the journey, like rushing to get the train while still literally packing, like catching the train in munich by a miracle in spite of the 1h coincidence, and other stuff like that. want to vomit on the bus up the mountains. but then i arrive to this village in the middle of nowhere, well in the middle of the alps but also nowhere, and things start looking better. nice people, a lot of snow, didn't expect it at this time of the year. start going to the lectures, they're fine, then get skipass, skis and boots, start going down the slopes... and it's lovely, nobody is around because it's still not peak season, and there is a lot of snow...
and then just after a couple of hours i just fall, like it never happened to me, and i hear crack. shit. total fear.
i still don't know what's wrong, something with my knee. no broken bone, that should be sure. hopefully no broken ligament, but this still need be checked. since then i am not supposed to walk. ten days of rest. which is killing me, even though i'm not really resting. i did not rest at the school, wanted at least attend classes. so i was begging all the time people to drive me 300 m to the conference hall, jumping on crutches all over the place... i was just starting getting tired of that, but really tired, and i found out i have a fever, but a really strong one, like 39 C... and my throat is full of crap so i'm also on antibiotics...
so finally yesterday i manage to escape from that teeny place in the middle of nowhere and after a long and perilous journey, on buses, trains, flight and obviously crutches!! after being checked at the airport because my orthopedic device beeped, after everything... i am finally back in my room and no fever and i can finally sleep well and have sweet dreams again!!
it's still a mess to jump around and bother people all the time, but still, i think i'll have to do it for a while. don't know, feels weird the idea of having to stay rest for a while. even though i know i have to, it's the only way to recover.
so i'm losing perception. i'm losing the whole framework. i was kind of trying to sort out things, and now i cannot even tide up my room, which by the way is a mess.
and i lost several small things too, which don't really matter but altogether it's another sign: one sock, one ball from the piercing, two hanging thingies from my mobile, and today another earing.
what is nature trying to tell me with all this?? what?? slow down?? (with what?? me?? not really the most frantic girl in town...) relax?? focus on something?? what??
or maybe i should just do what rob is suggesting me:
"This would be an excellent time for you to visit terminally ill patients in a hospice or go on a tour of a maximum security prison. To take maximum advantage of the current cosmic opportunities, you might also travel to the Slum Theme Park in Americus, Georgia, where Habitat for Humanity has built replicas of the leaky-roofed, earthen-floored, bug-infested huts that so many millions of the world's poor call home. In other words, Aries, I recommend that you give yourself firsthand exposure to people whose problems are much more demanding than yours. To do so at this juncture in your life's journey would provide a helpful shock that would inspire you to conquer the personal challenge you find most daunting. "
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
lovely irish people
went to dublin last weekend. visited enrica who's getting her way through the city. and the english language. and the irish people. looks like she found her own dimension...
not entirely true, actually, but still thought it was a cute caption! was a nice weekend anyway. lovely. great weather. kind of cold, but no rain at all. at all. left heidelberg with neverending rain. jacket, cap, clothes and shoes soaking wet. ok, i like to take the risk of biking around, even during the night, no matter the rain. but still, heidelberg is damn rainy. was raining when i came back too. and ireland, i mean, ireland! well, not a drop. which was cool because we could walk around all over the place. well not actually. we're weird people, so all over means weird neighbourhoods, the harbour, and such stuff. which is cool for us :)
aha, and i managed to see the sea again! we went to sandycove, this small village in the dublin bay, and the sight of the sea and its smell... just lovely! next time i'll have to pick up a city close to the sea, not just in the middle of nowhe... in the middle of the continent! sgrunt, if you want to see the sea from here you have to drive at least for 10 hrs. any direction. no way.
and in the sea, these lovely irish people having a swim at 11 o'clock! astonishing! was damn freezing! and there they were, having a swim, which apparently they do every morning... crazy! and they were so lovely and invited us to have tea and cake with them because one of the ladies had birthday!
yes i know it's kind of normal, but not that much here around... you really start missing some normal attitudes, then when you find them it looks like exceptional! though it's not!
not entirely true, actually, but still thought it was a cute caption! was a nice weekend anyway. lovely. great weather. kind of cold, but no rain at all. at all. left heidelberg with neverending rain. jacket, cap, clothes and shoes soaking wet. ok, i like to take the risk of biking around, even during the night, no matter the rain. but still, heidelberg is damn rainy. was raining when i came back too. and ireland, i mean, ireland! well, not a drop. which was cool because we could walk around all over the place. well not actually. we're weird people, so all over means weird neighbourhoods, the harbour, and such stuff. which is cool for us :)
aha, and i managed to see the sea again! we went to sandycove, this small village in the dublin bay, and the sight of the sea and its smell... just lovely! next time i'll have to pick up a city close to the sea, not just in the middle of nowhe... in the middle of the continent! sgrunt, if you want to see the sea from here you have to drive at least for 10 hrs. any direction. no way.
and in the sea, these lovely irish people having a swim at 11 o'clock! astonishing! was damn freezing! and there they were, having a swim, which apparently they do every morning... crazy! and they were so lovely and invited us to have tea and cake with them because one of the ladies had birthday!
yes i know it's kind of normal, but not that much here around... you really start missing some normal attitudes, then when you find them it looks like exceptional! though it's not!
my blog is sooo sad!
it's true, my blog sucks. i know i didn't advertise it, i kept it as a diary... but what's the point of a blog that nobody visits?!
and at the same time the life socks blog started, and although it's not the greatest success ever, it's still a lot of fun... and then yesterday they kind of forced me into facebook, which is another source of procrastination...
and no time left for my poor blog :(
gotta find a better strategy
no, i won't advertise it on facebook... no way
and at the same time the life socks blog started, and although it's not the greatest success ever, it's still a lot of fun... and then yesterday they kind of forced me into facebook, which is another source of procrastination...
and no time left for my poor blog :(
gotta find a better strategy
no, i won't advertise it on facebook... no way
Monday, November 12, 2007
saturday night - science and jazz
lot of stuff last saturday...
first there was this "night of science" event happening in the region, basically all the research institutes were open to the public and offering talks and other stuff. i took part with my institute, we were just showing some astronomical movies on a screen in front of the big room where the big shots were giving talks... i just spent there a couple of hours, my german is not that great but i was curious about the public outreach of such an event... and indeed, it was very busy, people all over the place, families with curious kids asking questions... i managed to answer to a couple of them, desperately crawling with my hopping german, mostly repeating the same sentences i heard from the other guy just a minute earlier: not that i don't know what's happening in a cosmological simulation, i just don't know... the german words for that!
so after those two hours i had enough of explaining to curious kids that "the universe at the beginning was all the same everywhere but not actually the same"... i know it really sucks, but i had no better way to explain initial density fluctuations in german! that' s why a wise decision for me and the visitors was the one to leave...
wise for me because i went to a great concert -->
stefano battaglia, Re: Pasolini
cannot really explain with words what we felt during the concert, just that it was magic.
and that i fell in love with the drummer, who was playing and moving in the most adorable way!
and that stefano is really nice, we spoke to him for a while, showing off all our italianity, and with roberto the drummer too, obviously!
i'm still enchanted! if i were not that sleepy i would go and listen to the cd that i obviously bought after the concert. but i think i'll just go to bed
a couple of useful links, just in case:
stefano battaglia, pianist
roberto dani, drummer
first there was this "night of science" event happening in the region, basically all the research institutes were open to the public and offering talks and other stuff. i took part with my institute, we were just showing some astronomical movies on a screen in front of the big room where the big shots were giving talks... i just spent there a couple of hours, my german is not that great but i was curious about the public outreach of such an event... and indeed, it was very busy, people all over the place, families with curious kids asking questions... i managed to answer to a couple of them, desperately crawling with my hopping german, mostly repeating the same sentences i heard from the other guy just a minute earlier: not that i don't know what's happening in a cosmological simulation, i just don't know... the german words for that!
so after those two hours i had enough of explaining to curious kids that "the universe at the beginning was all the same everywhere but not actually the same"... i know it really sucks, but i had no better way to explain initial density fluctuations in german! that' s why a wise decision for me and the visitors was the one to leave...
wise for me because i went to a great concert -->
stefano battaglia, Re: Pasolini
cannot really explain with words what we felt during the concert, just that it was magic.
and that i fell in love with the drummer, who was playing and moving in the most adorable way!
and that stefano is really nice, we spoke to him for a while, showing off all our italianity, and with roberto the drummer too, obviously!
i'm still enchanted! if i were not that sleepy i would go and listen to the cd that i obviously bought after the concert. but i think i'll just go to bed
a couple of useful links, just in case:
stefano battaglia, pianist
roberto dani, drummer
fair trade
sometimes on saturday i work in a fair trade shop here in heidelberg, the weltladen
i believe in the fair trade concept, even though i understand it's complicated to fit it into our daily routine and more important even though i know it's just a temporary solution, a patch to some extent, to the problems that it's supposed to solve...
people there are really nice, and they are ok with my terrible german! but still, for me that's an issue... after a while i cannot stand a serious discussion in german, no way! tonight i went to dinner at some friends' place (the bio friends of the bio cake) and we had a discussion about fair trade issues. well actually i witnessed the discussion, but as usual i never took part, which is frustrating because it's really embarrassing that i've lived here for nearly 3 years and my german is still that bad...
and moreover, there are some issues about fair trade that i would really like to discuss with them, some thoughts that i developed before and after having started working there, but no way i can ever express them, not even in a one-to-one conversation...
example: we always discuss ways to get more customers in the shop, because the shop has often bad finances and if you believe in it and want it to work, you have to find the money somewhere. so we organise various events, we spread flyers all over the place to invite people to come to our cafe and have a drink there (fair drink!) or to come to us to buy their christmas gifts (fair gifts, obviously)... ok, fair enough, it seems... but still, are we only trying to get the customers of other shops and bars, are we only playing in the big competition game of trade or are we really doing a difference? should we push people to consume, even though the goods are produced fairly, only because this is the only way to keep being able to produce them fairly? shouldn't we maybe push people not to consume that much? if i don't need a chocolate bar, there's not much difference if i buy a milka one, a nestle one or a gepa one from fair trade: it still won't change the bottom line, i don't need it though i buy it... if, hypothetically, every western european customer wanted to buy fair trade products with the same consumistic tempo, would we still be able to produce that huge amount of goods in a fair way??
that is the main issue that i still cannot solve myself nor speak about with any of my german mates from the fair trade shop. but still is something having written it here...
i believe in the fair trade concept, even though i understand it's complicated to fit it into our daily routine and more important even though i know it's just a temporary solution, a patch to some extent, to the problems that it's supposed to solve...
people there are really nice, and they are ok with my terrible german! but still, for me that's an issue... after a while i cannot stand a serious discussion in german, no way! tonight i went to dinner at some friends' place (the bio friends of the bio cake) and we had a discussion about fair trade issues. well actually i witnessed the discussion, but as usual i never took part, which is frustrating because it's really embarrassing that i've lived here for nearly 3 years and my german is still that bad...
and moreover, there are some issues about fair trade that i would really like to discuss with them, some thoughts that i developed before and after having started working there, but no way i can ever express them, not even in a one-to-one conversation...
example: we always discuss ways to get more customers in the shop, because the shop has often bad finances and if you believe in it and want it to work, you have to find the money somewhere. so we organise various events, we spread flyers all over the place to invite people to come to our cafe and have a drink there (fair drink!) or to come to us to buy their christmas gifts (fair gifts, obviously)... ok, fair enough, it seems... but still, are we only trying to get the customers of other shops and bars, are we only playing in the big competition game of trade or are we really doing a difference? should we push people to consume, even though the goods are produced fairly, only because this is the only way to keep being able to produce them fairly? shouldn't we maybe push people not to consume that much? if i don't need a chocolate bar, there's not much difference if i buy a milka one, a nestle one or a gepa one from fair trade: it still won't change the bottom line, i don't need it though i buy it... if, hypothetically, every western european customer wanted to buy fair trade products with the same consumistic tempo, would we still be able to produce that huge amount of goods in a fair way??
that is the main issue that i still cannot solve myself nor speak about with any of my german mates from the fair trade shop. but still is something having written it here...
a bio cake
a couple of days ago a friend of mine was trying to describe a weird guy he bumped into once, and used the expression "one of these bio germans", which might sound funny but also describes a lot of people here in germany...
tonight i went for dinner to some german friends who are really into that bio stuff, they buy only bio products, work for bio cooperatives and everything that goes with it. i'm not really into that, but i wanted to bring a cake so i had to come out with a bio cake... at the beginning i thought i could bake a macrobiotic cake following a recipe that i copied years ago from a book in some weird stand. i also thought i could bake a vegan cake. but first i could not find the tahini, which is supposed to be some kind of soy butter, then i realised no way i could be able to bake a cake without eggs, so the vegan/macrobiotic idea just blew away. but still, i managed to turn one of my usual cake recipes into a bio cake and the result was pretty good:
560 g bio wholemeal flour
500 g bio cane sugar
200 g bio butter
400 ml bio milk
6 eggs
100 g bio chocolate noir (to be chopped and spread around)
1 pck instant baking powder (although i wanted to try with yeast but i was running late, as usual!)
it was delicious, not sure if the bio stuff had any influence on that, but still, pretty cool recipe!
tonight i went for dinner to some german friends who are really into that bio stuff, they buy only bio products, work for bio cooperatives and everything that goes with it. i'm not really into that, but i wanted to bring a cake so i had to come out with a bio cake... at the beginning i thought i could bake a macrobiotic cake following a recipe that i copied years ago from a book in some weird stand. i also thought i could bake a vegan cake. but first i could not find the tahini, which is supposed to be some kind of soy butter, then i realised no way i could be able to bake a cake without eggs, so the vegan/macrobiotic idea just blew away. but still, i managed to turn one of my usual cake recipes into a bio cake and the result was pretty good:
560 g bio wholemeal flour
500 g bio cane sugar
200 g bio butter
400 ml bio milk
6 eggs
100 g bio chocolate noir (to be chopped and spread around)
1 pck instant baking powder (although i wanted to try with yeast but i was running late, as usual!)
it was delicious, not sure if the bio stuff had any influence on that, but still, pretty cool recipe!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
rain season
although nobody really danced for it, rain is back in our lovely gray heidelberg...
it's nice to know that the good old season cycle still works somehow, even though i have to admit i hate getting wet!
but i think i will still survive going by bike at least for another while
it's nice to know that the good old season cycle still works somehow, even though i have to admit i hate getting wet!
but i think i will still survive going by bike at least for another while
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
das leben der anderen
just for a change a serious entry...
das leben der anderen (the lives of others) is a german movie which came out approx one year ago and tells a story happening in east berlin in the eighties. it's actually a movie about the stasi, the state security police of the ddr. i finally managed to see it a while ago and i found it really good.
but only today i found a review, actually a comment about it, which my friend enrica wrote and with which i fully agree, and i wanted to post it here.
it's in italian, when i have time i promise i'll translate it
Brevi attimi di coscienza?
Le vite degli altri; regia di Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; prodotto nel 2006; vincitore del premio Oscar come miglior film straniero nel 2007; esce nelle sale italiane a marzo 2007.
Quando ho visto “Le vite degli altri” ero al cinema con Linda.
Linda è nata nella Berlino est del 1979. Alla fine della proiezione piangeva.
Non era stato il ricordo di un’infanzia infelice a provocarne le lacrime, tutt’altro, lei era perfettamente spensierata. Piangeva perché per la prima volta aveva sentito il significato della fuga (non percepita allora come tale) attraverso la Repubblica Ceca con i suoi genitori. Capiva finalmente il motivo per il quale alcuni volti che avevano popolato i suoi primi anni di vita erano improvvisamente scomparsi al suo ritorno a Berlino dopo la caduta del muro.
Il papà di Linda era un musicista e quei volti, quelli dell’arte, che se non uniformata al sistema veniva messa a tacere, sono gli stessi che il film racconta.
Gerd Wiesler , integerrimo e talentuoso capitano della Stasi, si ritrova, senza sapere di assecondare in questo modo i capricci sessuali di un uomo politico piuttosto che garantire la sicurezza e la sopravvivenza del sistema, a spiare l’unico drammaturgo che riesce ancora ad andare in scena nella Berlino est del 1984. Comincia così la storia di un’ intera comunità privata delle sue menti e della libertà di esprimere liberamente il proprio pensiero.
Il drammaturgo del film non affronta tematiche politico-sociali, tenendosi lontano, così, dalla censura e dalla morte, quest’ultima non determinata in forma diretta da coloro che detengono il potere, ma attraverso il silenzio che fa scomparire e che conduce, senza via d’uscita, al suicidio molti intellettuali, come accade ad uno dei personaggi del film, scuotendo il drammaturgo fin nelle fondamenta del suo io.
L’attrice, splendida interprete dei suoi drammi e sua compagna, è l’oggetto del desiderio e della rabbia del politico, la causa del cambiamento interiore di Wiesler e colei che rappresenta la figura del tradimento umano, combattuta tra l’amore per se stessa e l’amore per l’amato.
Ai tre quarti del film, il drammaturgo si ritrova a pubblicare clandestinamente su Der Spiegel, settimanale edito dall’altra parte del muro, un articolo sui suicidi che si verificano nella Germania dell’est e che sono taciuti dal regime. L’attrice, che aveva deciso di non assecondare più le voglie del politico per assicurarsi il posto in palcoscenico, ma di amare solo il suo uomo, si ritrova a tradirlo quando la pressione esercitata su di lei le diventa insostenibile; il capitano, dopo un lungo e ben descritto conflitto interiore, si ritrova a proteggere i due spiati fino alle estreme conseguenze.
Siamo più liberi noi oggi? Certamente non viviamo lo stesso tipo di pressioni del drammaturgo e dell’attrice. Non viviamo quelle pressioni perché non le percepiamo più. Il sistema (quello globale) è diventato talmente perfetto che lavora alla base. Il mondo corre. Gli uomini ( se pur sono stati una volta consapevoli) vivono la sua frenesia perdendone coscienza o incontrandola solo a tratti e in rari casi. Gli uomini diventano genitori, che per lo stesso meccanismo perdono il crescere dei loro figli, lasciandoli orfani del loro insegnamento e creature di un’istruzione sempre più scadente e di una comunicazione, quella che passa attraverso tutti i canali di cui oggi si fregia la nostra libertà di espressione, manipolata dall’ansia della produzione, della crescita e del guadagno economico di coloro che sono già al potere ( attenzione! non parlo del potere politico, ma di quello economico che regge al di sopra di tutto le fila del gioco).
Ed ecco che il sistema ci nutre del voyeurismo imperante in ogni pacchetto televisivo regalandoci l’illusione di poter vestire l’abito del protagonista, che nel giro di qualche mese, a volte di pochi giorni, si consuma senza soddisfare la nostra sete di essere.
Lo spettacolo da spiare passa da appositi contenitori alle nostre case e poco importa se lo si fa attraverso la cronaca nera; ciò che conta è essere presenti. E’ questa l’unica attestazione che sembra rimanere del nostro esistere?
E quando anche il telegiornale della prima rete di Stato è così solerte nel proporci la real soap del momento, dimostrandoci così che anche quelle oasi nel deserto, che pochi telegiornali costituivano, non esistono più, qualcuno potrebbe gridare ad una novella dittatura?
La dittatura dell’economia globale non ha più bisogno della Stasi, siamo diventati noi le spie delle vite degli altri (prodotte secondo le logiche dello spettacolo), senza che il sistema abbia bisogno della nostra delazione, quel che conta è la nostra assuefazione ed il nostro imbonimento.
Si rischia, così, di vivere nel porcile dell’opera pasoliniana e ce ne accorgiamo sempre meno. L’unica cosa che ci fa appena scuotere è quella che tocca le nostre pance, vivendo, sembra, nell’attesa che il maiale ci divori.
Il dono di alcuni film, e di ciò che in generale riesce ad essere arte , soprattutto se riuscissimo a fruirne nei rari attimi di calma, è quello di far brillare, anche se fiocamente, il barlume di coscienza che distingue l’essere pensante dal resto del creato. Questi oggetti d’arte contengono in loro stessi il passato, il presente e i tratti di ciò che potrebbe essere in futuro, basterebbe fermarsi a leggerli per allontanare da noi la vicina soglia del porcile.
Enrica Gatto
life socks: a reality
if one wonders why we always complain about that... well here's a live example from today.
i wake up, go to have a shower and remember i put the towel in the laundry yesterday. which is still drying in the machine. i know should not use that machine too much. not very sustainable. but with this cloudy gray german sky you never know if your laundry is going to dry outside...
anyway, i go pick up the laundry and guess??? didn't work, it's all still wet! so i spend half morning hanging everything outside thus making the whole drying machine effort useless.
feel stupid.
am late, go out in a hurry, try to pick up the car. i never use the car but actually needed it tonight. and guess?? the battery is totally down!!! what if my dad is right and i should have come and turned it on sometimes?? damn, i hate it so much when he's right! plus it hasn't been that freezing these days! anyway, go to work and try to find someone with those wires to recharge the battery. at least that's what i thought. and then everybody start telling me these stories about broken battery and how much you have to pay for a new one, or these small little animals like rats or hamsters that like biting the wires in your engine and basically destroy your car!!! i was getting crazy...
but still, sometimes life is colourful, just like socks... so the mean guy with the beard who's in my office found some wires from his neighbour and we recharged the battery and it was just fine... he's not that mean after all ;)
but then i had to drive all the time because i was afraid that if i turned the engine off then the car wouldn't have started again...
so i travel 60 km, including going to mannheim and see a jazz concert, which was pretty good. charlie haden and brad mehldau, shit they're really good, just the acoustic of the place was awful. after all, what do you expect from a round church?! but still, nice evening in the end. didn't expect it though from how the day started
i wake up, go to have a shower and remember i put the towel in the laundry yesterday. which is still drying in the machine. i know should not use that machine too much. not very sustainable. but with this cloudy gray german sky you never know if your laundry is going to dry outside...
anyway, i go pick up the laundry and guess??? didn't work, it's all still wet! so i spend half morning hanging everything outside thus making the whole drying machine effort useless.
feel stupid.
am late, go out in a hurry, try to pick up the car. i never use the car but actually needed it tonight. and guess?? the battery is totally down!!! what if my dad is right and i should have come and turned it on sometimes?? damn, i hate it so much when he's right! plus it hasn't been that freezing these days! anyway, go to work and try to find someone with those wires to recharge the battery. at least that's what i thought. and then everybody start telling me these stories about broken battery and how much you have to pay for a new one, or these small little animals like rats or hamsters that like biting the wires in your engine and basically destroy your car!!! i was getting crazy...
but still, sometimes life is colourful, just like socks... so the mean guy with the beard who's in my office found some wires from his neighbour and we recharged the battery and it was just fine... he's not that mean after all ;)
but then i had to drive all the time because i was afraid that if i turned the engine off then the car wouldn't have started again...
so i travel 60 km, including going to mannheim and see a jazz concert, which was pretty good. charlie haden and brad mehldau, shit they're really good, just the acoustic of the place was awful. after all, what do you expect from a round church?! but still, nice evening in the end. didn't expect it though from how the day started
Sunday, November 04, 2007
does it have to be that difficult?
hey it's really difficult to get a space for a blog!
i know i am totally ignorant about everything plus i'm lazy and not really in the mood to start learning about any computer tricky thing...
but i thought it was easier! i just thought i could play around with iweb and then easily publish what i had done there with the easy and user friendly mac style of what you see is thank god what you get!!! and instead... i am writing my new post online! this is so humiliating!
anyway... i think i'll just go to watch friends with my roommates and eat the tons of chocolate that appeared by mistery in the flat during the weekend... not the most efficient way to spend a sunday evening, but still, better than browsing the net in search of something i'm never going to find...
i know i am totally ignorant about everything plus i'm lazy and not really in the mood to start learning about any computer tricky thing...
but i thought it was easier! i just thought i could play around with iweb and then easily publish what i had done there with the easy and user friendly mac style of what you see is thank god what you get!!! and instead... i am writing my new post online! this is so humiliating!
anyway... i think i'll just go to watch friends with my roommates and eat the tons of chocolate that appeared by mistery in the flat during the weekend... not the most efficient way to spend a sunday evening, but still, better than browsing the net in search of something i'm never going to find...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
got tired...
got clearly tired of this blog thing. just maybe don’t have enough things to tell and share... like nothing special ever happens. maybe at the beginning of the month i was more inspired because a lot of things were changing and going on. i had the whole setting the new apartment thing which kept me busy for days. now everything is in its right place, the room looks unexpectedly big and empty, and i am obviously bored. and there was the photo exhibit thing, too. but now it’s over. everything is fading out.
feierabend, as the germans would say. and me getting tired. am actually getting tired, too. going to sleep
feierabend, as the germans would say. and me getting tired. am actually getting tired, too. going to sleep
Thursday, October 25, 2007
photo exhibit - closing time
tonight we had a final party for our photo exhibition.
yes, i organised an exhibition of pictures with some friends. i’m just an amateur, very very beginner. my friends are amateur too, but nonetheless we organised this exhibit thing. which turned out to be something exciting, especially because the place we used is really great. the place is an old inner pool from beginning of XX century, been closed for last 25 years or so... very decadent, rough appearance...
we had the exhibition just for fun, but it was nice to play with this awesome place. and to organise some kind of event, i mean something serious but totally not-science-related...
this was great!
one of my pictures is this one with the crane. don’t have the other ones. didn’t scan them yet. yes, i pretend to be a posh old style photographer shooting only on film. actually i’m just learning. i don’t pretend anything. i just like taking pictures at containers in harbours. this one was in mannheim harbour. mannheim is the closest city here, some 15 min drive. it’s a river harbour, obviously. god knows where is the sea in this country. and not even the best harbour ever. nonetheless i like going there. walking around, wondering when all that stuff is leaving and where it’s going and where it’s been before and all that stuff.
also the other pictures show goods and stuff and harbours and trucks and containers. what can i say, i like logistics. pretty weird, i know.
tonight we closed the exhibit. last party. the germans call it finissage. sounds really posh. even vernissage sounds posh to me. but we’re not, really. well actually we pretend to be deep and cultural. i also had the idea - and this is very posh - of having a friend of mine playing live music during the party. played the piano. was very nice, just that to pick up a piano, even though an electric one, and drive it around the city is not that enjoyable. regret stupid idea all yesterday, but still, result was pretty cool.
here are a couple of links about the exhibit
the official website of the exhibition
the exhibition in the aha website
pictures from the Vernissage
pictures from the Finissage
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
thinking about relationships
always wondered why people who had a long relationship with someone and, after spending years together, suddenly break up, why most of these people immediately start a new serious and generally long-lasting relationship right after.
actually thought i knew the answer. thought it’s some kind of disease, in the sense that once you’re used for years to picture yourself together with someone, you cannot stop doing that. you don’t see yourself as an independent entity anymore, and although you’re not looking for anybody special since you’re still attached to your former partner, still you immediately get charmed by someone else.
my friend laura a couple of night ago made me look at the issue from another point of view. she’s in the “seeing someone else” phase after a major break up. what she said is that it’s because after spending years with someone you’re so used to have someone around and to make this person feel comfortable, that you easily and quickly make other people feel comfortable. and they like you and want to spend time with you.
makes sense, to some extent.
although i’m still pretty much convinced of my opinion, which explains WHY people after a major break up tend to end up in a new relationship, this theory actually explains pretty well HOW this happens.
am slightly scared. if laura’s theory is correct, then i’m fucked. no way a pathological non-relationship person like me would make someone else feel comfortable.
thinking about it, laura’s theory could also explain why people who are currently in a relationship are somehow more capable to flirt than single people. well i actually thought it’s because you don’t need anything, you’re basically looking for nothing, and that’s what makes you look more interesting and spontaneous than others. but probably there’s the making someone feeling comfortable factor too. and the self esteem coming from successfully making your own relationship work.
and it’s probably this self esteem which remains even after the break up, the self esteem for having anyway managed to make something work for a while...
makes sense and scares at same time.
well it’s 2.45 in the night. whatever could make sense and scare me, so good night.............
actually thought i knew the answer. thought it’s some kind of disease, in the sense that once you’re used for years to picture yourself together with someone, you cannot stop doing that. you don’t see yourself as an independent entity anymore, and although you’re not looking for anybody special since you’re still attached to your former partner, still you immediately get charmed by someone else.
my friend laura a couple of night ago made me look at the issue from another point of view. she’s in the “seeing someone else” phase after a major break up. what she said is that it’s because after spending years with someone you’re so used to have someone around and to make this person feel comfortable, that you easily and quickly make other people feel comfortable. and they like you and want to spend time with you.
makes sense, to some extent.
although i’m still pretty much convinced of my opinion, which explains WHY people after a major break up tend to end up in a new relationship, this theory actually explains pretty well HOW this happens.
am slightly scared. if laura’s theory is correct, then i’m fucked. no way a pathological non-relationship person like me would make someone else feel comfortable.
thinking about it, laura’s theory could also explain why people who are currently in a relationship are somehow more capable to flirt than single people. well i actually thought it’s because you don’t need anything, you’re basically looking for nothing, and that’s what makes you look more interesting and spontaneous than others. but probably there’s the making someone feeling comfortable factor too. and the self esteem coming from successfully making your own relationship work.
and it’s probably this self esteem which remains even after the break up, the self esteem for having anyway managed to make something work for a while...
makes sense and scares at same time.
well it’s 2.45 in the night. whatever could make sense and scare me, so good night.............
Monday, October 15, 2007
losing interest...
didn’t write for a few days. could be i’m losing interest in this blog thing. actually during the day, when i’m alone, walking or cycling or writing emails, i sometimes think about the perfect blog entry. but then it’s just gone...
or maybe didn’t write because simply had too much to do.
my friend laura from italy is here visiting. my sister, nearly. shared a room at university. studied together for most exams. she was lovely. helped me building all the furniture. now i finally have a room! i completed my tetris level! i have a wardrobe, a bed, a desk, drawers and shelves... well, stuff is still in boxes, bags and luggage. the picture above gives a rough idea... well, can’t have everything from life!
it’s really cool! i like how the room looks now, just one of the walls is pretty ruined. was thinking about painting it. some colour. just one wall. some dark violet or so. like this: VIOLET. well not exactly like that. i mean violet like my bed sheets. i think it fits. will go to bauhaus and check if they have such a colour and how much it is. most likely i will have to prepare the colour myself. not sure i’m able to, i was not even able to find the right one on the computer!
and anyway before painting i should start putting things in their right place. maybe this way i can even find my digital camera. should be here, i mean somewhere in the house, haven’t seen it for a week. hope i didn’t lose it, but i never took it away from home. would have liked to take pictures of the room while building it, during the various steps. now i’ll just take one at the complete level. if i ever find it...
Friday, October 12, 2007
a bike odissey
unbelievable: my bike is down again! i go out this morning, even earlier than usual, i start cycling and immediately it’s again soooo hard... the back tire was flat again! i was so upset! anyway i managed to drive it to the shop and they changed the air chamber (or whatever it’s called)...
can’t stand it anymore!
plus, as a by-product, i didn’t manage to get to work before 10, i am really starting to think there’s really a field of forces blocking me ;)
work was pretty ok, spoke with my supervisor and showed him all my plots, he was happy as usual, hopefully i manage to finish this paper very soon and than i can change topic!
just that the rest of the day i’ve been feeling kind of sick, have headache, my eyes are tired, sore throat and lisa simpson’s voice coming and going away... actually, to be more precise, it’s lisa simpson going transsexual...
went to see a movie. documentary actually.
war photographer. that’s the name. and obviously that’s what it’s about. James Nachtwey, a photo reporter who always worked about war or poverty everywhere in the world. very interesting, although the beginning was really tough. made me feel tiny and useless. just a spoiled little girl, with my little project in this little city.
can’t stand it anymore!
plus, as a by-product, i didn’t manage to get to work before 10, i am really starting to think there’s really a field of forces blocking me ;)
work was pretty ok, spoke with my supervisor and showed him all my plots, he was happy as usual, hopefully i manage to finish this paper very soon and than i can change topic!
just that the rest of the day i’ve been feeling kind of sick, have headache, my eyes are tired, sore throat and lisa simpson’s voice coming and going away... actually, to be more precise, it’s lisa simpson going transsexual...
went to see a movie. documentary actually.
war photographer. that’s the name. and obviously that’s what it’s about. James Nachtwey, a photo reporter who always worked about war or poverty everywhere in the world. very interesting, although the beginning was really tough. made me feel tiny and useless. just a spoiled little girl, with my little project in this little city.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
surprisingly going on...
come back home after first small beer. am definitely too tired. and moody, just for a change. plus the place was kind of sad. vespa bar. it was once a noisy and smoky crowded bar, alex. very bad one by the way. now they refurbished and it’s not smoky, nor noisy. just sad. but probably being tired and moody mostly made it.
finally got my bike again. yesterday the guy at the shop let me use their professional pump to inflate the tire. this morning i could barely cycle back to the shop before it was completely down again. so i got new tires. 45 euros. don’t know what will eventually cost me more: the lack of experience, the lack of time or my chronic laziness...
went to old flat. kind of sorted things out with old landlord. and old roommate. hopefully will have nothing to do with all that again. i mean, it was a nice flat. but way too uncomfortable. never felt home there. now i kind of already do, even though sleeping on the floor surrounded by amorphous stuff.
actually i don’t feel exactly at home. it’s my friends isabel and giovanna’s place. now i moved here but still feel like it’s their place. but maybe i’ve been feeling home here for the last year, so it kind of explains.
i think i will watch a couple of friends episodes and try to catch some sleep. yes, i am a tv show addicted. well, not all of them. just friends (not ashamed to say, i have *all* the dvd’s). and a few others too. among the best ones. ally mac beal, sex and the city, scrubs, coupling...
well i recently started with lost. not me actually, was giulia’s fault. i wonder why she wanted me so badly to watch it. it’s not even good, but after a while you can’t do without. i think the reason why people keep on suggesting it to other people is because they don’t want to be the only fools who got the addiction. but for now i’m safe, there won’t be any new episode until beginning of next year.
finally got my bike again. yesterday the guy at the shop let me use their professional pump to inflate the tire. this morning i could barely cycle back to the shop before it was completely down again. so i got new tires. 45 euros. don’t know what will eventually cost me more: the lack of experience, the lack of time or my chronic laziness...
went to old flat. kind of sorted things out with old landlord. and old roommate. hopefully will have nothing to do with all that again. i mean, it was a nice flat. but way too uncomfortable. never felt home there. now i kind of already do, even though sleeping on the floor surrounded by amorphous stuff.
actually i don’t feel exactly at home. it’s my friends isabel and giovanna’s place. now i moved here but still feel like it’s their place. but maybe i’ve been feeling home here for the last year, so it kind of explains.
i think i will watch a couple of friends episodes and try to catch some sleep. yes, i am a tv show addicted. well, not all of them. just friends (not ashamed to say, i have *all* the dvd’s). and a few others too. among the best ones. ally mac beal, sex and the city, scrubs, coupling...
well i recently started with lost. not me actually, was giulia’s fault. i wonder why she wanted me so badly to watch it. it’s not even good, but after a while you can’t do without. i think the reason why people keep on suggesting it to other people is because they don’t want to be the only fools who got the addiction. but for now i’m safe, there won’t be any new episode until beginning of next year.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
geekiness masterpiece
me and my friend giulia wrote a masterpiece.
it’s the geek version of a song.
one, by u2.
we are geeks, even though we pretend we are not.
we pretend we are not because we are surrounded by geeks of much higher order...
see? higher order?! typical geek jargon.
we are geeks, no excuse.
we are phd students. astrophysicists.
what else should you expect?
actually this song thing was my fault. some time ago i didn’t remember the line where it is said “love is a higher law”... really don’t know how (?) but somehow understood “love is a power law”... very physicist... that’s why giulia and matteo appreciated it so much :) and why we spent last sunday evening turning the whole lyrics upside down...
here it is what came out...
to be read while listening to the original:
(office mate of the student speaking)
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now
with your thesis on the way?
You say...
(the student, speaking with him)
One code
One file
That one you need
In the night
Few data
We get to share ‘em
Program crashes if you
Don't care for it
(student, now speaking to the supervisor)
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad draft on your desk?
You act like you never published
And you want me to go without
Well it's...
Too late
Tonight
To drag the next plot into the slide
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
(the supervisor, to the student)
Have you come here with some progress?
Have you come with new results?
Or you’re just procrastinating
check your mail and surf the web?
Did I ask too much?
More than a plot?
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Write this paper
Then we discuss again
You say
(student again)
Look at my template
Check this power law
Look at my template
Check this power law
(supervisor)
You ask me explanations
But then it seems you’re dull
And I can't be holding on
To what you plot
When all you plot is wrong
(student’s final chorus)
One graph
My blood
No life
You got to do what you should
One mail
To each other
Students
Advisers
One lab
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...grad
One
and check the original lyrics here: one - the lyrics
it’s the geek version of a song.
one, by u2.
we are geeks, even though we pretend we are not.
we pretend we are not because we are surrounded by geeks of much higher order...
see? higher order?! typical geek jargon.
we are geeks, no excuse.
we are phd students. astrophysicists.
what else should you expect?
actually this song thing was my fault. some time ago i didn’t remember the line where it is said “love is a higher law”... really don’t know how (?) but somehow understood “love is a power law”... very physicist... that’s why giulia and matteo appreciated it so much :) and why we spent last sunday evening turning the whole lyrics upside down...
here it is what came out...
to be read while listening to the original:
(office mate of the student speaking)
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now
with your thesis on the way?
You say...
(the student, speaking with him)
One code
One file
That one you need
In the night
Few data
We get to share ‘em
Program crashes if you
Don't care for it
(student, now speaking to the supervisor)
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad draft on your desk?
You act like you never published
And you want me to go without
Well it's...
Too late
Tonight
To drag the next plot into the slide
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
(the supervisor, to the student)
Have you come here with some progress?
Have you come with new results?
Or you’re just procrastinating
check your mail and surf the web?
Did I ask too much?
More than a plot?
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Write this paper
Then we discuss again
You say
(student again)
Look at my template
Check this power law
Look at my template
Check this power law
(supervisor)
You ask me explanations
But then it seems you’re dull
And I can't be holding on
To what you plot
When all you plot is wrong
(student’s final chorus)
One graph
My blood
No life
You got to do what you should
One mail
To each other
Students
Advisers
One lab
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...grad
One
and check the original lyrics here: one - the lyrics
is it getting better?
just came back from room. kind of sorted things out.
at least pieces of wood and luggage are not crowding in the middle but standing in some sort of ordered way along the walls. looks much larger now. only the mattress is in the middle of the room. and still plenty of shoes on the floor, so cannot really enjoy the central space.
wonder when will build bed and wardrobe. not that i need them actually. could try and sell them. sleeping on the mattress on the floor is not that bad. can’t stand having clothes in suitcases though. makes me feel confused. cannot even realise what to put in the laundry.
but still, things are getting better.
not me, actually. i felt sick today in the office. maybe it’s the mean guy with the beard’s fault. he’s my office mate - they call him like that, even though he’s pretty harmless. he has a cold or the flu and apparently infected the whole institute. but maybe i was just not feeling good because of the uncountable lindt pralines i ate the whole day.
so i came back home earlier, pushing my stupid bike.
yeah, i went to pick it up and the tire was down. that was yesterday. i pushed it to a shop while coming back home, the guy let me use their cool pump and hopefully i can use it until the weekend.
laura comes in the weekend. good news, really need someone watching over me for a couple of days, like all the time. keep feeling moody, still wonder why...
at least pieces of wood and luggage are not crowding in the middle but standing in some sort of ordered way along the walls. looks much larger now. only the mattress is in the middle of the room. and still plenty of shoes on the floor, so cannot really enjoy the central space.
wonder when will build bed and wardrobe. not that i need them actually. could try and sell them. sleeping on the mattress on the floor is not that bad. can’t stand having clothes in suitcases though. makes me feel confused. cannot even realise what to put in the laundry.
but still, things are getting better.
not me, actually. i felt sick today in the office. maybe it’s the mean guy with the beard’s fault. he’s my office mate - they call him like that, even though he’s pretty harmless. he has a cold or the flu and apparently infected the whole institute. but maybe i was just not feeling good because of the uncountable lindt pralines i ate the whole day.
so i came back home earlier, pushing my stupid bike.
yeah, i went to pick it up and the tire was down. that was yesterday. i pushed it to a shop while coming back home, the guy let me use their cool pump and hopefully i can use it until the weekend.
laura comes in the weekend. good news, really need someone watching over me for a couple of days, like all the time. keep feeling moody, still wonder why...
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
first day of the blog
it's a weird day.
definitely back to everyday life, finally.
i have been spinning around like a stupid for the last couple of months. back home, back here, summer school, back here, back home, meeting, back again... if i count the different beds i’ve been sleeping in - and all the times i woke up screaming... but that’s another story.
the point is that i have to get back to work. i mean real work, since for the last month i was basically just listening to talks and lectures all the time.
have to get back to the real world. was certainly away from it, even though being in good old heidelberg does not help much realising it.
yes, i’m living in heidelberg - germany - somewhere in the middle of the map of europe.
middle of nowhere, to some extent.
maybe i'm just feeling dizzy because of all the bureaucratic shit i've been doing in the last 2 days, it's amazing how many offices i have to call to say that i have a new address.
forgot to mention that as well. i changed flats a couple of weeks ago. was it then? or when else? don’t actually remember...
i think i’m the only person who’s actually able to make a moving last nearly six months... well, if you count the first time i thought about that, it was april 17th, my birthday. and now that i am nearly over, my new room is such a mess...
i didn’t build any piece of furniture, didn’t unpack things, am surviving with the first layers of clothes of each suitcase, even finding underwear is an adventure, jumping between boxes... well actually the entrance and the corridor don't look much better. my 2 new roommates must hate me. luckily they’re my friends, but still...
have to build the stuff, but i'm wondering when... if i start at 7 or so, when i get back from work, i’m sure our favourite neighbour will come to complain with his lovely manners! actually, if he rings the bell while i have a drill in my hand, i may be dangerous...
that's why i feel like the picture i chose to open the blog: empty drawers. i feel like there are empty drawers everywhere. everything need be put in its right place. just got no time to do it.
and today the cleaning lady in the lab brought 2 boxes of lindt pralines, which are strangely not expired, i think i am having the fourth, or maybe the fifth...
my bike is still at brian's place (which is actually my former place), i left it there when i picked up the car. then i wanted to pick it up, but i realised when i was on the bus - and already at half way! - that i had no key, so i had to come back walking because i was in the potential well of no buses, and i was so pissed off and destroyed that i didn't want to try again. but i am dead with no bike!
plus i found out that having a parking permit does not mean having a parking place! i spent an infinite amount of time driving around these little alleys looking for a spot for my tiny little car!
so that's a good start for the new month and semester, what do you think??? actually sounds like a very good opening for a blog, i think i will start one right now...
just need to find the right radiohead song to go with it to conceal the perfect mood...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)