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Thursday 31 March 2011

happy thursday

31 mar 2011

a good break in mid week with a nice chat at the south western arms. cheers!

U2B: civic centre - home

31 mar 2011


note: i've already written a little bit about things that happen in a bus, but from now on i will write about specific bus trips i take, or underground or whatever, i mean, about what i see here while using public transportation. this idea of dealing with the topic in this 'organized' way was inspired by karen's kafka na praia. i love her posts about her bus trips.

today i walked to city to collect my new pair of glasses and took the bus back home. for lunch at supreme, had the usual won ton noodle soup and a portion of dumplings. it was good but i’ll buy myself some dumplings from the chinese supermarket, for the sake of saving up some money and eating more dumplings.

on my way home, about 2pm, i saw the bus from inside Matalan, and i ran not to miss it. the bus driver was, as many times they are, smiley and polite. because I had to stay a while in the bus before it actually left (if only I had known I wouldn’t have run) i decided to find myself a seat this time. for most of the trips I just stand in the bus, cause it is not a long one. i live in the uni halls; so, I am exempted from paying for the bus fee. all i need to do is to swipe my student card in the bus card reader. handy, huh!

looking around me i spot two passengers having their (official) meal. Lunch here is only a sandwich for many people, especially for the English. this one guy, accompanied by girl is talking to her and eating at the same time, using the same hand he might have just used to access the bus and maybe to get money to pay for the bus. I look and see this girl eating little pieces of something from a supermarket bag. I wonder how hygienic this is. Neither the guy nor the girl looks at the food. Why do I find it strange? Do we look at the food as we eat it? I think I do sometimes, but maybe not always, especially when I am entertained with any other activity, but my food and i are always clean. that’s for sure.

right behind me there is a young guy who talks loudly with this friend of his who is now in the bus in a language I cannot understand or identify. it sounds eastern european. a variety of languages is a constant in the bus.

Wednesday 30 March 2011

". . . a caminhar cantando . . ."

30 mar 2011

nota: recebi da minha maroquinha querida Hilra essas lindas linhas por email:

Nene, cabei de ler isso no rodape de um email que recebi e achei a tua cara!!! mais perfeito nao poderia ser:

"Não, não tenho caminho novo.
O que tenho de novo é o jeito de caminhar.
Aprendi (o caminho me ensinou)
a caminhar cantando
como convém a mim
e aos que vão comigo",
Thiago de Mello
walking around lovely Winchester, UK with Mike,  06 feb 2011

getting to charming Lymington, UK with Mike 27 feb 2011

amazing sunset at Hatchet Pond, New Forest, UK with Mike 27 feb 2011

Tuesday 29 March 2011

film: submarine

from yesterday, 28 mar 2011

submarine
Director : Richard Ayoade
Producer : Mary Burke, Mark Herbert, Andy Stebbing
Screenwriter : Richard Ayoade
Starring : Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Gemma Chan

yesterday mike and i saw this great film at harbour lights. set in Wales, Submarine, adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s novel, is Richard Ayoade’s debut as a film director. the film is a funny, romantic, and truthful portrait of teenage life in the 1980s in Britain, when we had no computers, social networks or mobile phones between us and contacts were mostly done in person and or by landline phones. this alone gives the film a particular charm. i saw the other day an interview on tv Ayoade and the main actor, Craig Roberts.

Oliver Tate’s (Craig Roberts) plans are to lose his virginity to his outspoken school sweetheart Jordana (Yasmin Paige); and to save his parents’ marriage. the schoolboy is more educated by his books than by his parents. From the beginning of the film Oliver reminded me of Salinger’s Holden Caulfield. i love the scene in which he gives Jordana three books: one by Nietzsche, one by Shakespeare, and Salinger’s ‘the catcher in the rye’. the books are the synthesis and the very essence of his thinking, I suppose. Oliver’s Dad (Noah Taylor) is a depressed marine biologist and his mother, Jill, (the great Sally Hawkings – see her also in Made in Dagenham) a frustrated civil servant who finds herself trying to be back to an old times’ relationship with her first love (Paddy Considine).

the film has made me laugh and feel light and delighted by the fantastic interpretations and use of colours and some special effects, like when Oliver is in his bed after Jordana breaks up with him and his bed is transplanted to the ocean.

photography is great. the effects and the colours give the impression that it is not a low budget / independent film. Carefully and creatively planned, Submarine is unique, lively, witty, and also about human pain and truth. it is delightful entertainment. i highly recommend it.

Monday 28 March 2011

exercising with david cameron

28 mar 2011


i just saw at the 'breakfast news' on bbc 1, this very first news programme of the day i watch nearly every day, an interview with a personal trainer talking about the way Prime Minister David Cameron runs. they showed footages of the Mr Cameron running with his fellows and the trainer made comments on how wrongly he is running and he should run instead. apparently Mr Cameron is tense, which affects his running in an obvious negative way. they also pointed out the fact that if we today witness such an important person to the country exercising it does send out the message 'go and exercise you, too. it is important'. the personal trainer emphasised that people do not realise how much exercising affects our decisions we make daily. i feel like going for a nice walk at the common now, but i'll leave it for later on, when i leave the house for other things, too. one nice image from the minister exercising is the contact with nature. breathing pure air is so invigorating.

Saturday 26 March 2011

my fruitful friday

about yesterday, 25 mar 2011


last night, talking with mike i realised i had an unexpectedly productive day. i was if truth be told not expecting that much because i have been slow lately. here is the report:

1. 7 – 8 am: started off the day having breakfast with mike, a good start . . .

2. 1.45pm: sent out an abstract to the Bloomsbury conference. I was freaking out and did fear not meeting the deadline, which was today. hurray!!! can’t really tell how pleased I was to manage something that may be just a simple task, something I have made so many times, but that has been a struggle for the past few months.

3. 2.30: met up for coffee at trago lounge with diana and sue. topics of the day: (a) how we relate to our families back home, how much we miss them, how much support we receive and give them, how much we tell or hide from them, . . . and (b) cosmetic surgery. it is a big thing in brazil, I know. it is not so big in romania, diana said, but it is a hot topic in south korea. so, sue was the one to do most of the talk. here are some facts about cosmetic surgery in korea: - yes, many loads of boys and girls do the eyes in search of a more westernised look; - they do it so often and ordinarily they don’t even call it ‘plastic surgery’, it is rather referred to as ‘make up’; - people place big time value on their looks, even professionally speaking; - girls may undergo ‘make up’ for a job interview; and finally that korean surgeons have a reputation of being highly skilled.

4. about 4.10: did some shopping at waitrose and was – surprise surprise – again excellent managing my time and doing all I wanted, I mean, buying all I needed to cook the dinner for later on.

5. about 5pm: got back home. waited for the U1C bus for more than 20 minutes. got back home and cooked dinner for me and mike. this time the cooking took me no more than two hours. such a success I hadn’t thought I would achieve because the first time I cooked it took me the whole day, not counting the trips to supermarkets and hours to decide on a menu. well, menu of the day: ‘summer in winter chicken’ (chicken on a pesto sauce with crème fraiche and basil; chicken with cream and parmesan and another cheese; - rice; dessert: blueberries and strawberries in a bowl with cream. English tea to drink. am very pleased mike enjoy the food very much. finished with eating mike helped me do the dishes. Four hands can be do so much more than just two. amazing!!!

6. about 9:10pm: we went to bellemoor tavern, in hill lane, shirley. It was to meet up with maudie, her friend aidan, jc, marie, and warren. I liked the pub: spacious and with a good menu for food, and good price; but we have drinks only. people here don’t drink and eat much. I had two glasses of wine, which helped me relax.

7. about 11.45: we took another taxi back home, to mike's place; and finished up the day in good hands / arms. . .

Monday 21 March 2011

the writing class & i love japan

21 mar 2011

my great writing class and takuya with the British Red Cross money box for Japan.
today was the last day for my 'writing your master's dissertation' class, group 1. we had a general of the points dealt with throughout the course and also talked about real samples of referencing, paraphrasing, note-takinh, and data collection instruments: a semi structured interview and a questionnaire. i will miss this great, participative group. wish them all the best of luck and inspiration for their dissertation.

one of the class students, takuya brought this british red cross money box to collect money for the victims in japan. we all donated some money and i found his act noble. he is such a polite guy.

le plat du jour: salmon with thai sticky rice

21 mar 2011


today i ate salmon again, this time with thai sticky rice, but cooked my own wrong way. i now need to get the cheese cloth to cook the thai rice properly, although it tasted fastastic this way. tea on the side and a piece of fruit for dessert. it is a banquet to me.

Thursday 17 March 2011

music: tea hodzic trio

17 mar 2011

tea hodic trio at turner sims concert hall 17 mar 2011
tea hodzic trio is based in london and performed today here in Southampton, at the turner sims concert hall. Tea is originally from the Balkans, this region in central europe very much marked with ethnic, religious, and political conflicts: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, plus the autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina. Tea left former Yugoslavia long ago to establish in london and her trio plays folk music from the balkans. it was very interesting to listen to this music and to observe the trio with a repertoire filled with songs that talked about beautiful girls. Oliver, the violen player who is originally Welsh, said there are no ugly in the balkans, as a joke or course. Luke, from london, plays the accordeon sooo beautifully. it had been very long since i last even saw an accordeon. i really loved to see tradition and history in every sound and tune.

Diana's mother is Serbian. she told her mom she was coming to the concert and her mom got so excited. diana bought mom a cd with the music from her heart. what a night! afterall it is always healing to be able to go back home, even if only in our souls.

i love japan

17 mar 2011

Mariko came to the office today with this money box to collect help for Japan. it was a pity only Hee, (you can see her by her desk in the upper level) and I were at the office. this meant collection was not very significant, but we did our share to help the enormous crisis her country is experiencing these days.

it was actually a nice surprise to see the polite and (apparently) shy Mariko collect donations. way to go, girl! it is amazing how events may lead people to do unpredicted / unplanned things. it can be crucial to be able to negotiate and adjust, especially during difficult times.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

le plat du jour: pasta with pesto sauce

16 mar 2011


this dish of pasta with pesto sauce was very very good. this time i used fusili and penne, left overs of each that i still had in my cupboard. added some seastick and some basil to it. simple, quick, and delicious.

my optician's appointment

16 mar 2011


mike: so did you go to your optician's appointment this morning?
kalina: oh yes i did.
mike: how was it?
kalina: i got there a little before 9 and was seen straight away. excellent service. yes the woman was very nice and i am pleased i went cause i'll have now the spare glasses in case the lens falls off again.
mike: how did you go? did you get the bus?
kalina: nope. i walked there. it is nice to walk to city here. guess what.
mike: you asked the woman to take your photo.
kalina: yes.
(both have big time laugh)
kalina: mike, how can people (some guys) be out on the streets wearing a t-shirt and not a single warmer jumper? it was seven degrees this morning.
mike: the hard guys.

note: the photo from the post i took myself. the lady took one, but i insisted and took another one, and decided to publish mine. yes, i am insatiable with photos.
here is how much i paid this morning at specsavers for my reading glasses: £ 151:

-  £ 22 for eye test there included test for glaucoma and diabetes. the optician said my sight is great and my laser surgery was a success. thus i have nothing to worry about. she said my sight is so fine she did not think appropriate to make the prescription stronger. phew!
- £ 99 for two pairs of glasses. i got the frames slightly different.
- £ 30 for anti reflective lenses in one of the pair glasses.

so far so good and i am really pleased with both the service and the final price. i'll come round there this next monday to collect the glasses.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

nature

15 mar 2011

me - viktoria - mariko in oxford, uk. summer 2010
From: Kitazawa M.
Sent: 15 March 2011 14:33
To: Lima K.S.D.
Subject: RE: the news

Thanks a lot, Kalina. It's not a silly comment at all - I like your Brazilian female politician's comment! And I love your big, fluffy, and tropical hug.

Sorry that I was upset in the office. I've been unstable now. I'm fine most of the time but sometimes I just can't control my emotion...

Thanks again and talk to you soon.
Mariko

-----Original Message-----
From: Lima K.S.D.
Sent: 15 March 2011 12:30
To: Kitazawa M.
Subject: the news

My dear friend Mariko,

It's been a few days I've wanted to contact you but don't know exactly what to say about the terrible last events in your dear country. Mariko, I am truly profoundly sorry about everything and do hope your government, together with whatever aid that will come to them be able to recover from it.

And we ask ourselves 'why?'. In my ignorance I have no idea and only learned the word 'tsunami' a few years ago; I believe like you did. Well, this Brazilian female politician from the amazon forest says nature is like a woman: it can't protect itself, but it revenges. Sorry about the silly comment. Please ignore it if you want. I just wanted to put some silly thinking into it :-)

Accept my big, fluffy, and tropical hug. We are together in this difficult moment. And I promise i won't beep beep beep on your ears when you're around in the office.

Yours
Kalina

Monday 14 March 2011

le plat du jour: salmon with bread

14 mar 2011


le plat du jour today was this scrumptious salmon with flute bread, from waitrose. i love both dearly. the salmon is so practical. we buy them in baking bags (envelopes) that are sealed at the supermarket, we just place them in the hot oven for 20 minutes and voila! it is beautifully done. ideally the salmon could be eaten with roast potatoes or nice, but i neither have time for complicated and time consuming cooking nor did i feel like cooking more than the salmon requires. it was a fantastic meal. had tea on the side and no dessert. uhlala!

Sunday 13 March 2011

film: wasteland

13 mar 2011


it is a pity this documentary about brazil will have on run only, this coming tuesday at harbour lights. wish i could come to see it.

Saturday 12 March 2011

tea for two

12 mar 2011


i met with diana at trago lounge this afternoon for some coffee and chatting. as usual, we talked very long about both academic and personal life. . . then we went shopping in portswood road. diana is a great company for shopping and a friend i like very much. these days she almost never shows up at the office as she prefers to work from home. i think if you manage to be productive from home it is always a better option.

Thursday 10 March 2011

le plat du jour: pasta with pesto sauce

10 mar 2010


today i prepared this delicious pasta with pesto sauce. very simple, basic, and quick. added some seastick and stirred fried prawns to it. it was really good. had it with green, and a nectarine for dessert.

new source of energy

10 mar 2011


following a friend's suggestion i decided to try dates as a new source of energy and aid for my frequent spells of binge eating. i've always liked dates but hadn't seen them as a helper concerning my 'problem' of craving sweets and many times not resisting temptations. the dates are very nice and energizing. this box is nearly finished now and has indeed helped me some.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

diverting at the cowherds

9 mar 2011


i do love pubs and going to them with friends and chatting and eating and having a great time. yes, i do. always. however, although karla and i had a super great time at the cowherds today i am aware i should have gone somewhere else, to a place which could maybe keep me away from too much or unnecessary eating. typical example of what i do when i should be doing something else.

well well, regretting does not help. the chat with karlota was great and it was a decision we made together after the talk at uni. we deserve to treat ourselves good from time to time, right? for some food is tempting, for some a bore. for me it is most of the time irresistible.

Thursday 3 March 2011

six plus one

3 mar 2011


. . . and listening to folk - country -  blues - cajun music they celebrated seven (six plus one) months together at the platform pub . . .

Tuesday 1 March 2011

as amarras e o movimento

1 mar 2011


encontrei essa preciosidade no blog sindrome de estocolmo e acho que ela eh bem verdadeira.