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!!!

as hot as it gets

30 jan 2011

this is what january is like: wintery, cold during the day; and colder at night. sometimes i surprisingly manage well the chill, most of the times i feel like staying indoors. i can't wait for the spring. please don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint. this thougher days are gone already and we started having daylight until sometime around 5pm, which is really nice. this change towards longer, brighter days signal the change of the seasons. to me it anticipates spring, with its renewal of life atmostphere.

another chilly day

8 may 2010

 i had plans to go to the library today, to be there and just cross the road for the theatre later on. well, i also needed to try some tidying up in the area here. i started off the day with for a nice one-hour gold run at the common while i was doing laundry; when i put the clothes in the dryer i left it here because to dry the time can be longer: 75 minutes. i love the days here, with new colours and the sounds of the birds, but it was very very cold. at first i thought of trying out to go very lightly dressed up, with one or two covers only. when i got there i was happy i was properly dressed to remain at the park for the time i wanted. chilly chilly common park.

back inside the house i organized the room, a little, i mean. this is always important to me, as it makes me see better the things around here and help me move on on on on, i.e., do the different, new things i have to do. i am happy i changed and washed all my bed sheets and got back a duvet i had already put away, thinking warm spring was on the way. spring yes, but not warm yet. i now sleep on winter pyjamas and have a bed sheet to cover me, plus two duvets. yes, they switched off the heater in the uni halls. i emailed them complaining about it this week. below is my contact with them. there is hope if next week it is still too cold to bear. i'll get ready to go to the theatre now.

-----Original Message-----

From: Lima K.S.D.

Sent: 06 May 2010 13:16

To: Rxxxx; Sxxx

Subject: heater

Hello,

I live in st margaret's. I understand spring is in the air, but still very and constantly cold. Could we please the heater switched back even if only for a few hours per day? It is particularly cold in the morning and in the night.

Thanks a lot,

Kalina

__

Hi,

Many thanks for your query about the heating. I'm afraid that the heating goes off this time of year in our halls every year. It was turned off when the weather was warmer, and I do appreciate that now it has got colder again. However, the weather forecast is set to improve at the start of next week so I'm sorry but the heating will not be turned on again. The heating in other halls is off at the moment or being turned off over the weekend so the situation is the same across other sites. However, if you feel next week that you are still cold, please let us know and we can review the situation.

Many thanks

Txxx Kxxxxx

Assistant Hall Manager

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.

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.

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.

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.

in a cold state of mind

RE: Can we cancel our session?

From: Mitchell R.F.


Sent: 10 February 2010 18:00

To: Lima K.S.D.

Subject: RE: Can we cancel our session?

Poor Kalina, I am so sorry you are in such discomfort!

Let's aim to meet next week - I could do most afternoons, how about Thursday 18th at 3 p.m.?

Ros

________________________________________

From: Lima K.S.D.

Sent: 10 February 2010 16:01

To: Mitchell R.F.

Subject: Can we cancel our session?

Hi Ros,

Can we please cancel our session tomorrow? I've had a very bad cold with allergy, a running nose, headache, and can barely hear from left ear since last week. Both ears are infected. I went to the clinic yesterday and am now taking antibiotics which i hope will make me feel better. But i feel very tired and weak. Actually I don't remember any illness that has made me feel pain in my teeth. The ear infection is making me feel dizzy at times, and when I go out I keep sneezing all the time. I even have conjunctivites. I can't come, Ros. Sorry.

Thanks,

Kalina

a neve que cai e a cidade que para

(o texto desse post eh um email enviado a minha irma kassandra)

8 jan 2010

a universidade vai fechar, de novo. fica bem dificil mesmo o dia. que sensacao ruim. a gente TEM que ficar em casa. to incomodada com essa dificuldade de se movimentar pra qualquer esquina. ta um horror mesmo pensar que os onibus param, mudam a rota, a gente cai (hoje passei por uma moca e 'ops' ela me disse que ja tinha caido duas vezes so hoje. eu ainda nao levei nenhuma queda, mas ando com muita dificuldade, devagar, e com medo. e com um monte de coisas pra fazer.

eh o povo dizendo pra gente se abastecer de coisas e ficar em casa. se abastecer de que??? nem sei o que comprar, na verdade. vou ver se arrumo meu quarto e faco os servicos que tenho que fazer e pronto. torca por nos, pra essa previsao ser so excesso de precaucao deles, porque a neve demais deixa o servico pessimo por varios dias depois, principalmente para pedestre como eu, que nao ando na rua principal, e sim nas calcadas e na floresta, com gelo espelhado escorregadio. andar pela rua eh igualmente perigoso, porque os carros se arrastam e precisam driblar da gente. juro que to estressada. nem to achando nada bonito.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: xxxx@xxxxx
Sent: 08 January 2010 15:52
To: xxxx@xxxxx

Subject: FW: MONDAY 11 JANUARY 2010

Importance: High

Dear All,

Unfortunately, due to the predicted adverse weather conditions for Sunday night into Monday morning the University has taken the decision to close on Monday 11 January.

Please keep checking your emails and SUSSED for further updates during the weekend and on Monday. Every effort will be made to get the university re-opened on Tuesday.

Thank you for your anticipated co-operation during this period.

With best wishes,
Eleanor

Dr. Eleanor Quince,
Postgraduate Research Coordinator,
School of Humanities,
Avenue Campus
University of Southampton,
SO17 1BJ
http://www.soton.ac.uk/hpgr

2010 is in the air - what now?

thursday 7 jan 2010

i don't think i am fully connected to this new year yet. not been long ago we were thinking about the turn of the century. everyone was talking about year 2000. now it is 2010. i am so confused!! or lazy?? a bit of both.

the truth is i am slow and struggling with this freezing cold winter in england. this has been a nightmare for me to step out of the house or to walk anywhere. you oughta keep the faith, otherwise. . .

my birthday was yesterday. it felt a little weird to keep it really quiet at home. none of my flatmates knew about it, only internet contacts and personal life people. am i too old now for little celebrations? or have i gotten to the point that it really doesn't matter whether i have a birthday party or not? i am quite certain all i want is to be in good health and to know that the ones who are precious to me are all fine and safe. i know that the most important point for me now.

cheers to 2010!!!!
kalina

to spread out or not to spread out

11 nov 2009

today i got up feeling even worse, with a hoarse voice, and feeling pain all over the body. i asked myself how i was going to make it to the day, as i would have a class to teach at 9am. well, took a shower, had cereal with banana and yogurt, and headed to uni - avenue campus. i had spent the night coughing too much, and had coughed and sneezed a lot during the day yesterday. i took a bottle of water with me to the classroom and delivered the planned lesson of the day: tutorials. after a while i started to feel a little better.

i knew i had three appointments during the day: - lunch at noon with some friends, to celebrate hsuya's birthday; - a pgr talk at 1pm; and - a calr presentation at 5pm, about which i was highly interested (topic: elf). moreover, i didn't  want any nasty looks on me (remember i looked ill with the cough). i was really not sure whether i should go or not to the canteen for the lunch to start with, but i did go anyway. i did a little - and cynical - survey to feel people's acceptance on my current 'state of the art'. they were all admant in telling me i should not attend any of the talks of the day, and that i could go next week, trying to console me, and obviously to convince me to stay away with my germs. i was at that time - lunch time - thinking of going, cause i was no longer sneezing or coughing.

it was funny because later on i was at my desk, next to hsuya's, and najima came over to greet hsuya for her birthday. nagima took the chance to say that yes i should go to the calr presentation at 5. i also knew they would go to the cowherds after the presentation, as we did the other day. najima asked for hsuya's confirmation that i should come along, which she did, but i knew she thought i was not in the best shape to be in a closed lecture theater with lots of people. i didn't go, after all. i also had an extra good reason not to go: i have lots lots lots to do, about both my research and my teaching. one thing at a time, kalina. i decided not to spread out my so called swine flu. photos: notes posted on campus.