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Sunday 29 May 2011

wrong time wrong person wrong place

29 may 2011


wrong time: this weekend (27 - 29 may)
wrong person: i
wrong place: in london for the weekend.

the day before yesterday (friday) i got the coach to spend the weekend in london. i booked the return ticket to 3.30 this afternoon. trouble is i was not at peace there as i kept thinking all the time of my duties left behind here. i couldn't stop thinking of the many things i should be doing here instead of enjoying a weekend away.

after many hours of turmoil i decided to change the time my ticket and got the 10.00 o'clock coach this morning. what a relief, and a lesson learned: it is time to concentrate on my research. i decided to put a hold on the other insanities that were occupying my mind, i.e. travelling. it was a beautiful day today and the trip back was good. i took the time to appreciate the road and the cars and to think.

i got off the coach at the uni interchange and - again - embarked on the wrong bus. i got into u2b instead of waiting for a moment for either u2c or u1c. u2b is only good for me when i go to uni, not from uni. and again i visited the neighborhoods. it didn't bother happy me at all.

Friday 27 May 2011

noticia daqui la ali

27 may 2011

hoje o soton times virou noticia no blog Pimenta no Reino, da Fabiana Zanelati
com a receita de um camarao cremoso gratinado que eu fiz. isso mesmo, por hoje o plat du jour ta publicado la. nao sou craque na cozinha, nao sou mesmo, mas o camarao ficou bonito e muito saboroso. resolvi mostrar pra Faby, e la esta, na primeira pagina. quanta alegria!!!
obrigada de montao, Faby.

Thursday 26 May 2011

busy and cold and wet and happy

26 may 2011

highfield campus this morning. photo taken with my mobile phone.
i started the day with a consultation with my gp, who gave me good news about my health. uhlala! but i still have lots of things to do, and she gave me some very useful hints. she suggested i read about 'low gi diet' and explained why i would benefit from it. dr armstrong is so caring. i told her of things i have been doing in my constant struggle to have some control over my weight. she renewed my prescriptions and said we might consider lowering the already low medication i take to keep my blood pressure under control. i was pleased and surprised to see my blood pressure very much under control today. i suppose it might be a result of my low intake of sodium.

then i went by the accommodation office to pay for my rent fee. what a hassle. my credit card decides not to work when i most need it. i ended up going to natwest for an alternative and got all the problem sorted out in the end. i had to walk around campus and from highfield to avenue under a rainy / wet, windy, cold, bizarre weather. however, it felt quite warm inside the buildings. go figure!!!

Wednesday 25 May 2011

e viva o viva

25 may 2011


hoje, agora a pouco, eu estava ali no crown inn almocando com a diana. ai a hilra me telefonou de dentro de um taxi, a caminho da universidade, pra ir para o viva voce dela, hoje ali em seguida. viva voce eh como chamam a defesa da tese de doutorado aqui. primeiro que foi uma peleja pra eu conseguir atender o telefone, porque ainda to apanhando aprendendo a usar o danado. e ai:
- onde tu ta, nene?
- to no crown inn, sabe onde eh? eh um pub entre highfield e avenue (dois campi da universidade aqui pertinho)
- ah, sei nao, oh. eu queria te dar um abraco. to indo pro meu viva agora.
- agora? eita, eu pensava que era so sexta. tava pensando em ti, pra ti mandar um email.
- nao, eh agora. perai, vou perguntar ao motorista aqui se ele sabe onde eh.
(perguntou (conversa em ingles) e o motorista confirmou que sabe, sim, onde fica o pub)

e la eu vejo, de dentro do pub, o taxi passar e estacionar ali na frente. fui ao encontro da hilra, para da-la um abraco grande. maroquilda estava tao linda e chique a caminho de seu momento de estrelato, de fechamento de um projeto que representa tanto.

para mim, na minha experiencia,  essa eh uma conquista que nao se localiza na esfera academica apenas, nao nao nao. eh um processo que sofre / recebe influencias dos sonhos, dos empenhos, das pedras que encontramos no caminho, das alegrias, das curiosidades, das horas incalculaveis (e pra que calcular?) de leitura e descoberta do mundo e de nos mesmos. o processo do phd invade a vida da gente, define quem somos, modifica a gente, parece que nao eh mais possivel dissociar academia e vida pessoal. os momentos de coleta de dados, de investigacao, eu os sinto todos como investigacao de mim mesma, de como e porque faco parte. . . como tambem faz parte, aqui nessa cultura, a mesa de um pub. a mesa de um pub aqui nao eh lugar (so) de vagabundo, mas eh tambem um ponto de encontro, descobertas, fechamento de acordos, entendimentos da vida. . .

eu fiquei muito mas muito feliz mesmo de ver maroquilda achar tempo pra ir me ver para um abraco magico nesse momento inesquecivel da vida dela.

mas foi muito engracado quando eu ia caminhando, dentro do pub, ao encontro dela no taxi, como meu pensamento so me dizia: 'to no crown inn'. e eu pensei: 'conversa de gente vagabunda estar num pub ao meio dia de uma quarta-feira, eh?' talvez nem seja tao mal. foi uma pausa de uma hora apenas. e voltei pro avenue campus com a diana. e ca estou firme de volta no servico. o pub eh um carregador de baterias automatico.

Thursday 19 May 2011

manha tao bonita manha

19 may 2011


i went to bed last night thinking of going for a walk at the park this morning. i woke up this morning feeling my life would get stuck if i didn't go for the walk. i checked out the weather: 5 degrees and a beautiful sunshine. for a moment i felt tempted to stay indoors but it was clear to me i needed and did want the walk.

am thankful to the birds singing to me everytime i walk at the park and i feel so much better, i breath fresh air, my digestion improves right away; the list of benefits is endless. i get answers to some puzzles that have been keeping me company, i clear my head.

tao bom caminhar na manha tao bonita manha.

Monday 16 May 2011

a step forward

16 may 2011

i met with ros today. lots of negotiations about content and outline for the thesis. many many plans and dreams on what goes where. she wants to meet me more often now. next meeting is next week. told her about my difficulties concerning technologies and that not even an excel spreadsheet i know how to use. she said we'll have a session on this if need be.
oh my!!! all the time i am happy and stuck and slow and happy and stuck and slow. wish so bad i could change this pattern and finally become the productive person i urge so that i can carry on with my phd research in a more relaxed mode.

the original taste

16 may 2011


originally from south and central asia, naan bread has become popular in many other countries. this one from photo i had at the gurkha chef, the nepalese and indian restaurant we went to in winchester the other day. it was so ethnic and special it didn't resemble one bit the one i had before long ago from a regular supermarket.

this is my point: if you want to try something which is new to you, like ethnic food or a typical dish (fish and chips), make sure you have access to the good sources, otherwise you may have a negative experience and think that is all about the dish. i had good / original naan bread a while ago at an indian restaurant here in southampton. it really made me think. the taste was so good it felt like i was having it for the first time. i have had the same experience with fish and chips, a staple in english food. you have to check and find the places / restaurantes where it is cooked fresh and by a specialist.

Saturday 14 May 2011

diana's birthday celebration

14 may 2011


diana and i met uptown, browsed around tkmaxx. she bought herself a pair of shoes. i was glad to find the door hanger for clothes i had been searching for. i was in awe for quite a while at their kitchen utensils section. then we went to specsavers for me to finally collect my second pair of reading glasses.

we went to bella italia for lunch. the day was beautiful, a little cold but not too much. it really felt nice. our lunch was super good. diana had a smoked salmon and asparagus pizza. it tasted delicious. i have eaten bad pizza before there, but this time it was a good choice. i ate insalata pollo e pancetta, which is a whole sliced chargrilled chicken breast, red onion, plum tomatoes, crispy pancetta and baby gem lettuce with creamy dolcelatte dressing (description pasted here from their website). oh my! my salad was excellent.

chat chat chat about travelling, academia, men, life, family, and friends, plus chocolate vanilla strawberry caramel ice cream for dessert. i came back home to get ready for tea later. diana was back into town to continue shopping. as i said in the title of the post, this was to celebrate diana's birthday. she has other celebration in a trip to london with her boyfriend, andrew.

Thursday 12 May 2011

u2b: the accidental journey

12 may 2011


how could we two - it took two - embark on the wrong bus? the consequences were that we went through, undesired at that moment, roads and roads and roads and neighbourhoods when we could not really afford it timewise. thank God everything got sorted in the end and hope it only meant a little, not serious, delay. am glad maroquilda is back and so serene. we need to meet up again for a proper chat and cafe feliz.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

academia & pub

10 may 2011


i went to the cowherds tonight with my german students elke and bernd. it was nothing planned. it just happened that we chatted a little after class and walked together because the way to the pub is the same as my way home, and we three ended up at the pub. the pub here is where life is sorted out, where you get into and out of trouble, where you learn and teach. yes, the pub here is more or less where we live.

and it happens that we had a great talk about a variety of topics: housing, here and back home; money; loneliness; flatmates and the oddities of sharing space; and other things. we talked a lot about travelling around the uk. all in all they sort of interviewd me, asking me loads of questions about me and my life. it felt nice to see people so interested in learning about me. i promptly responded to all of their questions. we ate mediterranean food and drank shandy. i had bitter shandy. i love the cowherds because it is very comfortable, serves good food, and is located at the common, a 4-minute walk from where i live.

elke is working on her phd and came to england for six months only as a research student. before coming here she was living in berlin. her study is about the pension systems both here in uk and in germany. she joined the english class to improve her english and also to socialize. she seems to be happy with her accomplishments here so far. elke said i am a very interesting person with a very interesting life. what a nice comment to receive from somebody.

bernd is a violin maker from the germanic bavaria. he has a job in romsey and lives by himself. i keep telling him he needs to socialize more and find himself a girlfriend to keep him company. he is very young and such a nice guy to spent so much time alone. he agrees and we laugh. i love to listen to his stories about violin making. it sounds like a magic profession to me.

Monday 9 May 2011

le plat du jour: file de frango marinado

9 may 2011

file de frango marinado com shoyu e acucar demerara



fiquei muito tentada a cozinhar o file de frango bacana da Karen e fiz da receita uma desculpa para estrear minha frigideira / grill que promete ser 'a panela' mas que tem sido fonte de decepcao, por enquanto. agora conto como fiz o frango, que ficou moreninho da silva catole e muito mas muito delicioso mesmo. nao medi nada, foi no olho. ate acresencentei um pouquinho de acucar depois e tive a impressao de que exagerei no molho shoyu.

400 gr de file de frango (o meu tava cortado em pedacos pequenos)
lavei esse frango com limao, ou suco de limao, que a gente compra no ponto aqui.

para a marinada:
oleo (fiquei doida pra botar azeite mas obedeci aa receita)
shoyu (desconfio que exagerei uma coisinha aqui)
acucar mascavo (eu usei demerara, orientacao da chef karen)
vinho branco (eu nao tinha saquê, que eh tambem opcional)
dois dentes de alho em lascas bem fininhas
uma cebola cortada em meias luas (eu so tinha cebola roxa, que nao aconselho)

misturei todos os ingredientes - marinada e frango - em um saco plastico para sanduiche. acho que o pobre do saco deveria ser maior. misturei bem misturadinho e deixei na geladeira um tempo, talvez meia hora.

depois dessa marinada, ta tudo no ponto e comecei a grelhar o frango. tirei o frango do saco e deixei a marinada la por enquanto. fui grelhando o frango no super decepcionante por enquanto grill bem aquecido (acho que deixei o coitado esquentar demais), e fui grelhando os filezinhos de frango muito bem, mais ou menos uns seis minutos de cada lado. fui repetindo essa operacao em pequenas porcoes e devagar para nao encher de agua a frigideira. como achei meio seco e quente demais botei um pouco de oleo. e repeti a operacao ate ter grelhado todo o frango. no intervalo entre as porcoes de frango dei uma limpada com papel toalha na frigideira. como eu ja tinha feito alguma coisa errada no grill ele quis ficar com um pouco do papel,  mas deu tudo certo.

reservei os lindos files de frango grelhados e deitei a marinada na frigideira, que tava la com os sucos do frango, e deixei ali no fogo brando ate ficar tudo macio. ficou super saboroso. a mistura do shoyu com o acucar e a cebola e o frango grelhado eh uma delicia. para acompanhar fiz um pure de batata, daquelas em po que a gente compra aqui. isso mesmo, piloto de fogao, pero no mucho.

Sunday 8 May 2011

new year's curry in winchester

about last night 7 may 2011


photo 1: the starter; photo 2: maudie, marie, and jc; photo 3: the cuties
mike and I met with steven at the train station and traveled together to winchester for our 2010 – 2011 new year’s curry at the nepalese and indian restaurant gurkha chef.

we were ten for the night: from the uk: mike (welsh), and the english ones: johnny, jc, marie, steven, the team leader maudie, and warren; and the foreigners murielle and celine (both French), and myself with my verde amarelo branco azul anil heart. In other words, we were ten people, with four nationalities, and from three different languages.

winchester greeted us with rain, but we carried on walking to fulfil our protocol, which is pub – restaurant – pub. Then, we head home. I want to make a point that now I understand better the itinerary that really gives everyone opportunities to interact with various of us.

the pub was the hyde tavern, a cozy but not so comfortable one. I had diet coke and a small glass of their- not-so-special house wine. at the pub I had a chat with murielle. she is french, from a small island near mauritius island. she is a chemist, lives near here, but will move soon to germany, relocated to work there. we talked about this and also about phd life and about brazil. she asked me how my research is going. i smiled and she smiled back, sharing the inherent sticks and stones we come across throughout the process. a friend of murielle’s came by her place and took away her tv when she was doing her phd so that murielle would have one less distraction and could concentrate properly on the duties. later on the friend threatened to take away her phone if she kept spending hours talking to people. we had a good laugh.

then we went to gurkha chef, the nepalese and indian restaurant. i had pork palak (barbequed pork with pork cooked in spinach, tomatoes and onions) with mushroom rice for dinner. i also tried mike’s food, as usual. it was all very good. at the restaurant i the chat was about travelling, mostly with steven, mike, and murielle.

after food food food and chat chat chat we left the restaurant. murielle and celine went home, the others went to another pub. mike and i walked back to the train station to get the 12.07 train to southampton, because it comes by the train station near his place. on our way back both to the station in winchester and in southampton we walk in the rain again. we waited for a while at the train station sitting in a bench and talking: precious moments. this was a much expected rain that did many things: it washed away my makeup and my blow dried hair, as well as some pollen from the trees. i think the long and quiet rain also cleansed both southampton and winchester and gave them a lighter, greener, and more beautiful view. it was so lovely to walk in the rain.

we finally got into the train and back home sometime around 1am today. What a night.

Saturday 7 May 2011

karla's birthday party

7 may 2011


we just came back from karla's birthday party. later on we're going to our new year's curry celebration, in winchester.

karla's birthday party was at her boyfriend's (thomas) place, in Fareham, a small city located about 10 miles or 16.09 km from southampton. attending the party we were nine adults and a 21-month old cute boy called leonidas, who receives greek input from his father, french language from his mom, and english at the nursery he goes to.

i counted among us seven nationalities, these being the countries: brazil, greece, france, uk, iran, taiwan, and cyprus; and six different native languages: portuguese, greek, french, english, persian, and chinese. this was a great mix and we had a good laugh together and ate and drank and celebrated karlota's birthday.

the food was all vegetarian and delicious. karla prepared a salpicao, farofa, rice, and a very good brazilian feijoada. oh my i loved to have farofa. the girls baked a cake and i made a green salad with rocket, watercress, spinach, celery, cherry tomatoes, grain mustard, caesar dressing, and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. it was very good and i was really pleased to make it. it has made me think that throughout the years i have been asked by family members back home in brazil to fix one of the dessert plates in our gatherings. a green salad seems to be a more sensible option for me to prepare, i suppose.

Friday 6 May 2011

back to the raft

6 may 2011

today i finally put my hands and my mind back into my research. i can't believe this day has come!!! no words i have to express my relief for i have been too disconnected with this, which should always be my number one priority. duty priorities shouldn't have to wait for inspiration. they should just be there and i should just face them in the same way i accept and don't neglect my hygiene routine. but no no no! my last days were a mix of despair and guilt for not working on my thesis and on the other hand trying to lead a normal life. this blog has received much attention and this may give the reader the misleading impression that all my writing is up to date. no no no! only today did i actually manage to do what i had been dreaming of for quite a while.


diana came to the office today and we agreed on a coffee / endless chat for later on. she sort of changed plans and accepted andrew's (andrew is her boyfriend) invite to celebrate one of his friends' viva at the crown. i thanked her very much but i was not in the mood for socializing. meeting up with diana is socializing, too, of course, but in very much relaxed terms. since i was not going to the crown inn we just had some cafe feliz at the avenue campus garden, because the days have been warm and inviting for outdoor activities. andrew came by to fetch her to the pub and i was headed home, very happy for feeling useful and productive again, at last. amem!

a luz no escuro

6 may 2011


hoje fiz esse comentario sobre um post da Karen:

que bacana, Karen. nao bacana o medo, mas falar sobre ele, e a reflexao que voce propoe. a ultima frase eh fundamental. eh sim importante

"É preciso deixar que essa impressão se dissolva no quarto escuro e esperar que os sons familiares devolvam o sentimento de segurança, mesmo quando falso." Karen

aas vezes precisamos permanecer no local do medo pra enfim deixa-lo ir ou entao pra entender o que se passa e assim trocar o medo com alguma familiaridade. a vida tem me ensinado que muuuitas vezes o que mais me assusta eh na verdade de mim o que mais me atrai, e por isso tenho procurado ter mais paciencia comigo mesma e olhado pra dentro de mim e me surpreendido com forcas que estavam querendo desabrochar, e se manifestando timidamente na forma de medo. eh um misterio, mas se nos formos bacanas comecando por nos mesmos, ha luz! abraco

Thursday 5 May 2011

music: emily barker in winchester

5 may 2011

emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester
emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester
great show tonight at the railway in winchester. emily barker & the red clay halo. she is a guitarrist and song-writer from australia. it is so good to be close to the musician and really feel them making music. this original experience no cd or dvd will ever provide. the girls so reminded me of the dixie chicks. the harmony of the instruments is magic. once again we were sitting in the first row, right there, in the best place. their song 'pulse' is now the opening theme song for bbc two tv series 'the shadow line', a crime and investigation series. pulse is a great song.

before emily barker harp device played as the support band of the night. the link i found to the band is the right one, but it was a different girl singing this time. they are a new band from basingstoke, a city nor far from here. they write and sing their own songs. there is music everywhere in this country, and there are always people coming to the gigs. it is amazing.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

catching up at the crown inn

4 may 2011


diana and i had not met in a while, both because she hasn't come much to the office lately and now because of the easter break, when she traveled back home. she came by the office today and we walked together to the crown inn at 6pm to eat and chat, and we did chat. i ate a burger with pineapple and mushroom and new potatoes (not chips). she ate a spicy burger. and we talked about her recent trip to romenia and about relationships and life and plans and academia and frustration and expectations and dreams and money and how it is rare these days. maybe because of its location the crown inn is a magnet for folks from uni. we saw many people we know there; and today was the german and french day. loads of them. hello hello hello hello

we talked a lot but didn't really stay at the pub very long. then, we walked together to highfield campus. she lives behind hartley library, and i was headed to the interchange to get my bus back home.

Tuesday 3 May 2011

six plus three

2 - 3 may 2011


. . . and listening to radio 6 and eating shepherds pie, deliciously cooked by him, and sticky toffee pudding and drinking lemonade with orange juice and then watching the new tv series 'the great outdoors' they celebrated, at his place, nine (six plus three or six plus one plus one plus one) months together. . .