30 mar 2010
we (kassandra and i) arrived back home from our 9-day trip to three countries: czech republic, austria, and hungary. sooo much to tell and to show, over 2000 photos and unforgetable memories of our moments together in these beautiful places.
will go to bed for now. it's past midnight. it is already 1st of april, actually. we'll have three hectic days ahead. really, the bed is calling me.
muuuuch love :-)
kalina morena
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Sunday, 14 March 2010
o cartunista
14 mar 2010
esse cartum eh do Glauco, que foi morto em sao paulo juntamente com o filho, por um bandido que estava 'delirando' no momento do crime. e agora, hein? nao quero nem pensar no sujeito que fez essa coisa monstruosa no meu brasil onde a violencia nao diminui. eh tao assustador tudo isso.
o cartunista era uma pessoa muito do bem, um profissional criativo e respeitado e um pai de familia bacana, segundo palavras da enteada que o chamava de pai. uma estupidez dessa invade a vida das familias de bem e as desfaz e marca as pessoas pra sempre. eh tao dificil dizer qualquer coisa. eu so quero de qualquer forma comentar que todo o bem que o Glauco fez, toda a licao de paz e de respeito e de trabalho vai perdurar e nao tera sido em vao. tristeza confusa.
esse cartum eh do Glauco, que foi morto em sao paulo juntamente com o filho, por um bandido que estava 'delirando' no momento do crime. e agora, hein? nao quero nem pensar no sujeito que fez essa coisa monstruosa no meu brasil onde a violencia nao diminui. eh tao assustador tudo isso.
o cartunista era uma pessoa muito do bem, um profissional criativo e respeitado e um pai de familia bacana, segundo palavras da enteada que o chamava de pai. uma estupidez dessa invade a vida das familias de bem e as desfaz e marca as pessoas pra sempre. eh tao dificil dizer qualquer coisa. eu so quero de qualquer forma comentar que todo o bem que o Glauco fez, toda a licao de paz e de respeito e de trabalho vai perdurar e nao tera sido em vao. tristeza confusa.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
this singing soul of mine
11 mar 2010
this week was the time of our kitchen to be made available for us to use it again as its refurbishment was completed just last week. not it looks - and is, indeed - brand new, with new everything, and the seats located not acroos from it anymore but on its corner, with makes the area less noisy.
a few minutes later there comes christen, the american girl from atlanta. she is very nice, and this year she has a key position amongst us as a researcher, so she is the right person to head to movement for the tea and the whole 'research community' thing, as she named it. i spoke with her and she said the idea is great. she'll email eleanor and see what can be done for our shared kitchen and for us as a research community. cheers to christen!
some time later i went down the stairs with christen, towards the cafe. she went to meet with her friend for a chat. she pointed out that our study room - she is one of the new people there - is very quiet and that people over there don't make much noise at all. she said it is really a 'studious place'. she stayed forever in the the south corridor downstairs with her friend but they two eventually came back up to the office.
i stayed kinda late in the office today. hee came back to speak a little about her research. by the time we finished the chat, there comes christen and her friend back. hee and i were talking normally, no whispers needed because we were alone in the office. i went back to my desk and asked them (christen, friend, and hee): 'is it a problem if i sing?' in normal voice tone. all of them responded smiling: 'no'. i did not sing. instead i packed my stuff and got ready to leave. when i said 'bye, girls' they all asked about the promised singing, 'but you didn't sing'. oh that was cute!!! i laughed and explained to them they should not rush and allow me the singing. i told them about my life in florida, when i worked as a cleaner in a hotel in st.petersburg. it was a fantastic experience and i have nice memories of it. we went to the apartaments (it was a sort of apart hotel) in groups of four or five people. everytime i entered any room or started working - my cleaning area was the bedroom - i also started singing. it was soooo much fun because i couldn't help it. singing while slaving is a cultural thing in brazil. the point is everytime i started singing and the boss, this italian woman called carmela, was around she would say 'don't quit your daytime job'. she meant i sang so badly i would not be able to survive from my singing performance. what a cruelty!!! the girls laughed and then i sang a little of 'fly me to the moon', just to please them and keep up with my promise of the day.
this is this singing soul of mine.
life is almost back to normal in the office on the avenue campus. i provide the explanation: we spent about a month in PGR study room 1 because ours (room 4) was being refurbished. it is finished now and we are all back in our desks. well, not quite. we had so many changes that the office looks totally renewed in terms of people as well, actually. loads of students who were not there before are now part of it. and some who belonged there were then allocated other desks spread out in the archaeology building, in the cottage, or in one of the other study rooms right here along the corridor.
i had lunch with fatimah, my saudi friend, there today. as always, we chatted a lot about life and she told many interesting things about her culture. - in saudi arabia men are allowed to have four women at a time! this is the synthesis of our conversation of the day, i mean, the highlight, because we talked a great about our researches as well. we commented on how nervous we become when we have to make presentations and other sorts of things. fatimah is a great chat. susana, the big spanish woman came by the kitchen and we three we ended up talking about how new and nice the kitchen looks now and also that we should make all effort to keet it nice. the idea of collecting some money for washing up and tea bags and sugar and sweetener was considered. spanish woman left.
a few minutes later there comes christen, the american girl from atlanta. she is very nice, and this year she has a key position amongst us as a researcher, so she is the right person to head to movement for the tea and the whole 'research community' thing, as she named it. i spoke with her and she said the idea is great. she'll email eleanor and see what can be done for our shared kitchen and for us as a research community. cheers to christen!
some time later i went down the stairs with christen, towards the cafe. she went to meet with her friend for a chat. she pointed out that our study room - she is one of the new people there - is very quiet and that people over there don't make much noise at all. she said it is really a 'studious place'. she stayed forever in the the south corridor downstairs with her friend but they two eventually came back up to the office.
i stayed kinda late in the office today. hee came back to speak a little about her research. by the time we finished the chat, there comes christen and her friend back. hee and i were talking normally, no whispers needed because we were alone in the office. i went back to my desk and asked them (christen, friend, and hee): 'is it a problem if i sing?' in normal voice tone. all of them responded smiling: 'no'. i did not sing. instead i packed my stuff and got ready to leave. when i said 'bye, girls' they all asked about the promised singing, 'but you didn't sing'. oh that was cute!!! i laughed and explained to them they should not rush and allow me the singing. i told them about my life in florida, when i worked as a cleaner in a hotel in st.petersburg. it was a fantastic experience and i have nice memories of it. we went to the apartaments (it was a sort of apart hotel) in groups of four or five people. everytime i entered any room or started working - my cleaning area was the bedroom - i also started singing. it was soooo much fun because i couldn't help it. singing while slaving is a cultural thing in brazil. the point is everytime i started singing and the boss, this italian woman called carmela, was around she would say 'don't quit your daytime job'. she meant i sang so badly i would not be able to survive from my singing performance. what a cruelty!!! the girls laughed and then i sang a little of 'fly me to the moon', just to please them and keep up with my promise of the day.
this is this singing soul of mine.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
the glitter day. indeed
9 mar 2010
after so much glittering the glitter and life i was surprised to meet a whole bus packed with youngsters who had glitter all over. it is very good to be young and therefore free to just paint your face using whatever colour available in the rainbow, including any variety to it. they were all, i think, going to a party. what a noise they make. the girls are nearly naked in this chilly night. yes, sometimes it is hard to understand why people do what we do not do. i mean, i am fine with what they do, i have nothing exactly against it, but i think they are originally and naturally so much nicer and cute, i see no need to disguise.
the last part of this glitter day happened in the evening, on my way home from uni. i stayed in the hartley library until about 9pm. left the library and headed to the interchange to take my bus: either U1C or U2C. U2C came first. the young people i met in the bus, who normally look beautiful decide to paint their faces and bodies with different colours and faces of animals. i saw rabbits, cats, and pigs, to name some. and the outfits looked just as peculiar. well, it was the glitter day!!!
update on the morning of 10 mar 2010:
how could i forget to mention the main glitter of all? it was that i stayed at the hartley library for about five hours and i was highly productive in my readings and writings. i was happy with what i accomplish despite the system being down, this implying i had to dig for readings shelf by shelf since we had no webcat at that moment. i managed to find a good from modern languages and three interesting articles. i read them all and inserted ideas in my writing of the moment, which is the course plan for july. yey!!!
after so much glittering the glitter and life i was surprised to meet a whole bus packed with youngsters who had glitter all over. it is very good to be young and therefore free to just paint your face using whatever colour available in the rainbow, including any variety to it. they were all, i think, going to a party. what a noise they make. the girls are nearly naked in this chilly night. yes, sometimes it is hard to understand why people do what we do not do. i mean, i am fine with what they do, i have nothing exactly against it, but i think they are originally and naturally so much nicer and cute, i see no need to disguise.
the last part of this glitter day happened in the evening, on my way home from uni. i stayed in the hartley library until about 9pm. left the library and headed to the interchange to take my bus: either U1C or U2C. U2C came first. the young people i met in the bus, who normally look beautiful decide to paint their faces and bodies with different colours and faces of animals. i saw rabbits, cats, and pigs, to name some. and the outfits looked just as peculiar. well, it was the glitter day!!!
update on the morning of 10 mar 2010:
how could i forget to mention the main glitter of all? it was that i stayed at the hartley library for about five hours and i was highly productive in my readings and writings. i was happy with what i accomplish despite the system being down, this implying i had to dig for readings shelf by shelf since we had no webcat at that moment. i managed to find a good from modern languages and three interesting articles. i read them all and inserted ideas in my writing of the moment, which is the course plan for july. yey!!!
more on glitter
9 mar 2010
after the bank i spent some time working, ops, listening to youtube music (Diana Krall and more on jazz) at the Law building, where there is a great workstation. i stayed there until the uni system went dead.
i then headed to here, the Hartley Library and had a cup of filter coffee (the cheapest one) with a brownie. well, i ordered the coffee and brownie and gave the guy at the till a coin which for me was a 2-pound coin. i then moved towards the coffee place to help myself. the till guy comes to tell me i actually had given him a money which was not pounds. he kept looking around the nice little coin and said it was a 'real' and finally got to the conclusion it was brazilian money. i apoligised and gave him real pound :-) he said it was ok, not a problem and we kept chatting for a little while. he asked for my brazilian coin. he wanted to see it again and said he found it beautiful. i decided to offer him the piece. i said 'you can keep it'. he was happy and accepted the coin. he said next time he'll pay me a cup of coffee. it could not be today anymore because he had already registered it. at this time we were already speaking portuguese, he with a portuguese accent and i with my brazilian trace in the language. he asked my name. his is carlos.
what a glittery afternoon. and to think i was not so certain about leaving the house in the cold 7-degree afternoon. oh my! it was worth everything, afterall.
after the coffee i went to first level on hartly to find some Linguistics journals. i did find some material and worked on my research for about two hours. you know what, i am happy. i am now planning to come more often to this library and spend time here. i was just sitting in one of those tables on the very back where you only have a computer if you bring your own. i had not brought mine and the system was down anyway, but it was good to concentrate on the readings and on writing some for a while. yey!
after the bank i spent some time working, ops, listening to youtube music (Diana Krall and more on jazz) at the Law building, where there is a great workstation. i stayed there until the uni system went dead.
i then headed to here, the Hartley Library and had a cup of filter coffee (the cheapest one) with a brownie. well, i ordered the coffee and brownie and gave the guy at the till a coin which for me was a 2-pound coin. i then moved towards the coffee place to help myself. the till guy comes to tell me i actually had given him a money which was not pounds. he kept looking around the nice little coin and said it was a 'real' and finally got to the conclusion it was brazilian money. i apoligised and gave him real pound :-) he said it was ok, not a problem and we kept chatting for a little while. he asked for my brazilian coin. he wanted to see it again and said he found it beautiful. i decided to offer him the piece. i said 'you can keep it'. he was happy and accepted the coin. he said next time he'll pay me a cup of coffee. it could not be today anymore because he had already registered it. at this time we were already speaking portuguese, he with a portuguese accent and i with my brazilian trace in the language. he asked my name. his is carlos.
what a glittery afternoon. and to think i was not so certain about leaving the house in the cold 7-degree afternoon. oh my! it was worth everything, afterall.
after the coffee i went to first level on hartly to find some Linguistics journals. i did find some material and worked on my research for about two hours. you know what, i am happy. i am now planning to come more often to this library and spend time here. i was just sitting in one of those tables on the very back where you only have a computer if you bring your own. i had not brought mine and the system was down anyway, but it was good to concentrate on the readings and on writing some for a while. yey!
the glittering glitter
09 mar 2010
i just stopped by my bank (my bank, not yours hehehehe) to ask to change my solo debit card for a visa one, as people say the visa card has more credibility.
well, i started speaking with the bank lady meant to help on the issue and she was quite formal, with no time or space for a smile. well, i decided make a simple comment on her nails: 'your nails look fantastic. awesome'. after that she turned herself into an all-over-body smile and said she only passed glitter on them because she likes her nails to look tidy. we indeed became high school gals and chat a good deal about nails, bank cards, travelling, and - guess what!!! men, of course!!! i asked her if i am going to receive my new bank card before i travel on the 21st of march and she said 'yes', and that it would be for sure. she then asked where i am heading to. i said: prague, viena, bratislava, and budapest. to each city i mentioned she showed a nice surprise and said it is all fantastic. she said prague is the city of the single men, that all the single men go there. i said that's why i am going, too.
see? a simple glitter glittering a whole day, and it did not cost me a thing to acknowledge how nice her nails look :-)
i just stopped by my bank (my bank, not yours hehehehe) to ask to change my solo debit card for a visa one, as people say the visa card has more credibility.
well, i started speaking with the bank lady meant to help on the issue and she was quite formal, with no time or space for a smile. well, i decided make a simple comment on her nails: 'your nails look fantastic. awesome'. after that she turned herself into an all-over-body smile and said she only passed glitter on them because she likes her nails to look tidy. we indeed became high school gals and chat a good deal about nails, bank cards, travelling, and - guess what!!! men, of course!!! i asked her if i am going to receive my new bank card before i travel on the 21st of march and she said 'yes', and that it would be for sure. she then asked where i am heading to. i said: prague, viena, bratislava, and budapest. to each city i mentioned she showed a nice surprise and said it is all fantastic. she said prague is the city of the single men, that all the single men go there. i said that's why i am going, too.
see? a simple glitter glittering a whole day, and it did not cost me a thing to acknowledge how nice her nails look :-)
warming up
9 mar 2010
it seems like things are starting to improve around here. 2 degrees today. there is hope, afterall. i am not going to uni just now. will stay home a bit longer today and read in bed although i feel like listening to music only.my sister will arrive here in the 18th. when she came last year it was chilly. we visited paris and amsterdam and both places were just chilly. i hope we are luckier this time and meet better winds in prague, vienna, and budapest.
in the meantime i prepared myself a good cup of tea and enjoy some jazz. this is how i start my days, every day. :-) music is inebriating, and healing.
Monday, 8 March 2010
a chilly march indeed?
8 mar 2010
i have realized the cold is far from leaving us. my hopes for the warmth of march is fading away as it feels more like we're having 'waters of march'. the rain, the wind, the need for a warm outfit and for a glass of wine :-) do tell me cold is here to stay. by the way, every year they say it feels colder. the world is upside down. why is it cold like this where i am? cold and damp, that's what is not nice. but it should be fine. i am not that unhappy. i just want to register the cold aspect of life here, but i am ok.
Friday, 5 March 2010
the wintery march?
5 mar 2010
it is even colder now that at the beginning of the month. this cold weather is very limiting of the things i do. even for a walk in the i don't feel highly inclined to go. it is chilly. actually, it is freezing cold and the wind only does make matters worse.
i can't wait to put winter clothes away and feel lighter. i am getting ready to go highfield campus, wherei teach today in about two hours, but i wish sooo bad it were not that cold. yes, the cold is a problem for me.
i can't wait to put winter clothes away and feel lighter. i am getting ready to go highfield campus, wherei teach today in about two hours, but i wish sooo bad it were not that cold. yes, the cold is a problem for me.
Monday, 1 March 2010
a chilly month ahead
1 mar 2010
it is already the beginning of march, but the cold is still around. this is second march here. last year it represented the hope for warmer days here in southampton. so, when it was very cold early this year i lived on the hope for the month which would warm my days up. my sister is about to come for a visit and i started to wonder what sort of weather will greet her :-)
chilly, chilly days. -3 now. at least the days are now brighter and longer. this is the first manifestation of spring, the renewal of life.
chilly, chilly days. -3 now. at least the days are now brighter and longer. this is the first manifestation of spring, the renewal of life.
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