It's hide-and-seek time!
Sunday, November 30
Friday, November 28
lost in memories
One of the most amazing things about books is that they do not only tell stories about the world, they also narrate history of a family. It never occurred to me until now. I’m buying a new bookcase and have to empty the old one.
The old bookcase itself has a story to tell. It was bought by my great grandmother and has been gathering books for almost a century. The book case is not an antique piece; it’s just a solid shabby keeper of my family history. The oldest book in was published in 1855 and was called “the Divina Commedia” by Dante Alighieri.
I started from the lowest shelf, as there’re the books which were found useless at some point and moved *downshelf* to make more room for the new. The first books I pulled from it were encyclopaedias of Biology, Geography, World History and Fauna Secrets. That was a hello from a distant past, when I was a very good pupil at a primary school and got curious about whatever I laid my hands on.
Then there were dozens of psychedelic books, lectures on yoga, spiritual periodicals and Christian booklets. So I remembered mom reading them and learning to be an extrasensory individual. She must have been well-read, as it was easy for her to control emotions, hold breath for a long time and even see what I was doing at school, when she was at work in another part of the city. There was even a book of dream interpretations by Sigmund Freud, which was so much fun to read.
Love stories and novels, I read in my teens, were also on the shelf. It was weird to see Sidney Sheldon’s and Bertrice Small’s novels mixed with mom’s religious periodicals. In my teens I was a huge fan of Bertrice’ sexy and romantic novels set in exotic countries. The stories usually lacked storyline, it went as follows: the main heroine fell in love or/and got rapped by a local guy, then was kidnapped in some Asian country and served there as a slave concubine. She fell in love with her current master and had a kid or two. By that time her first lover had found her and kidnapped back home. So in the end she was happily married to some local guy. That was absurd, but I got obsessed by all those spectacular locations, sets and sex, a lot of sex. Sidney Sheldon got into my life in later teens. At 15 I loved reading about strong and ambitious women, who got whatever they wanted and always came out to be a winner. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be the Master Of The Game.
Deeper in the shelf I discovered books from before-me period, they taught a young family how to run household, how to get ready for a kid, how to build up a family life. There were few books on knitting, sewing and cooking. I take it; mum wasn’t a fan of a kitchen. She was actually a very active lady, who played tennis (there were book about the game, too), attended university courses in the evening, worked at a factory, looked after dad and later me. Mom was actually good at sewing and knitting, but she never liked it.
Among the tips for a young family and courses of physics (I don’t remember anyone read it ever) were two books I adored as a kid: “Town In A Snuffbox” by V. Odoevsky and “Pine-grosbeak” by E. Charushin. The two stories were about a world that only a kid’s imagination could create. There were also some colouring books and encyclopaedias about dogs and cats, because at that point of my life, the parent bought me a kitten, who then lived with me for 16 years.
Finally, there were presented books, which I never got to read, as they seemed to be either boring or crazy. They still are.
So there I was, emptying the bookcase, lost in memories.
The old bookcase itself has a story to tell. It was bought by my great grandmother and has been gathering books for almost a century. The book case is not an antique piece; it’s just a solid shabby keeper of my family history. The oldest book in was published in 1855 and was called “the Divina Commedia” by Dante Alighieri.
I started from the lowest shelf, as there’re the books which were found useless at some point and moved *downshelf* to make more room for the new. The first books I pulled from it were encyclopaedias of Biology, Geography, World History and Fauna Secrets. That was a hello from a distant past, when I was a very good pupil at a primary school and got curious about whatever I laid my hands on.
Then there were dozens of psychedelic books, lectures on yoga, spiritual periodicals and Christian booklets. So I remembered mom reading them and learning to be an extrasensory individual. She must have been well-read, as it was easy for her to control emotions, hold breath for a long time and even see what I was doing at school, when she was at work in another part of the city. There was even a book of dream interpretations by Sigmund Freud, which was so much fun to read.
Love stories and novels, I read in my teens, were also on the shelf. It was weird to see Sidney Sheldon’s and Bertrice Small’s novels mixed with mom’s religious periodicals. In my teens I was a huge fan of Bertrice’ sexy and romantic novels set in exotic countries. The stories usually lacked storyline, it went as follows: the main heroine fell in love or/and got rapped by a local guy, then was kidnapped in some Asian country and served there as a slave concubine. She fell in love with her current master and had a kid or two. By that time her first lover had found her and kidnapped back home. So in the end she was happily married to some local guy. That was absurd, but I got obsessed by all those spectacular locations, sets and sex, a lot of sex. Sidney Sheldon got into my life in later teens. At 15 I loved reading about strong and ambitious women, who got whatever they wanted and always came out to be a winner. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be the Master Of The Game.
Deeper in the shelf I discovered books from before-me period, they taught a young family how to run household, how to get ready for a kid, how to build up a family life. There were few books on knitting, sewing and cooking. I take it; mum wasn’t a fan of a kitchen. She was actually a very active lady, who played tennis (there were book about the game, too), attended university courses in the evening, worked at a factory, looked after dad and later me. Mom was actually good at sewing and knitting, but she never liked it.
Among the tips for a young family and courses of physics (I don’t remember anyone read it ever) were two books I adored as a kid: “Town In A Snuffbox” by V. Odoevsky and “Pine-grosbeak” by E. Charushin. The two stories were about a world that only a kid’s imagination could create. There were also some colouring books and encyclopaedias about dogs and cats, because at that point of my life, the parent bought me a kitten, who then lived with me for 16 years.
Finally, there were presented books, which I never got to read, as they seemed to be either boring or crazy. They still are.
So there I was, emptying the bookcase, lost in memories.
Thursday, November 27
result
“Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire.” And burn black in the end.
That's the way I feel today. After several weeks of hard work, heated arguments and long hours on the phone with our partners the deal was finally signed. The first shipment is to arrive on the 10th of December. The bosses are off to celebrate, and I'm left here to clean up the documents.
All the glory is for the bosses, however I'm absolutely satisfied to achive so much in such a short period of time. That is the first contract I've made on my own.
Sunday, November 23
Friday, November 21
an incident
I'm offered a chair nicely, the same chair I'm offered every time I come. I'm taking a seat, chatting gaily, admiring my friend's new look... Suddenly a crackle comes out of the blue.
The next thing I know: I'm lying supine heals over head, scared and confused. Silence.
My friend's scared, too. Seconds are passing slowly. Finally, we both burst into wild laughter. I'm rising to my feet shuddering with laughter and looking around at tens of wooden pieces around the room, no chair.
We're still laughing. We're still out of breath.
What a fine way to begin a weekend!
Have a beautiful weekend and stay away from crackling furniture!
The next thing I know: I'm lying supine heals over head, scared and confused. Silence.
My friend's scared, too. Seconds are passing slowly. Finally, we both burst into wild laughter. I'm rising to my feet shuddering with laughter and looking around at tens of wooden pieces around the room, no chair.
We're still laughing. We're still out of breath.
What a fine way to begin a weekend!
Have a beautiful weekend and stay away from crackling furniture!
Thursday, November 20
it's winter in the city
Yesterday was lovely, as winter arrived. It had been snowing since early morning and by the time the work was over the whole city had turned white, and the snowflakes were sparkling in lanterns light.
The moment I left the office building a snowball hit me. I had no idea who the snowball had come from, so I quickly made one and threw at the colleague, who was laughing most. Whithin seconds the parking lot got filled with laughter, flying snowballs and working fellows running around. I was surprised to see all these gloomy and serious guys in such high spirits.
I'm so gald that winter is back in town. Time to polish ski and sharpen ice- skates.
Wednesday, November 19
a guessing game
There're certain things that put me at a loss daily. One of them is the bosses' messages, which are so grammatically incorrect that it's difficult to understand what they mean.
For example, a recent post-it I found on my table said: "Receive Mr. Green by kunch --->". Now, how am I supposed to *receive* Mr. Green? And what's *kunch--->*? I was staring at the post-it for several minutes, confused and angry. It took a while to figure out that the bosses had asked me to send the letter marked "--->" aka near the post-it note to Mr. Green before lunch.
The other one is spelling. The bosses make so many mistakes in names and places that I keep on calling wrong contractors and talk to them about something they have no idea about.
The third annoying thing is that they give contradictory instructions. Consequently, I end up carrying out unnecessary tasks. That's frustrating.
For example, a recent post-it I found on my table said: "Receive Mr. Green by kunch --->". Now, how am I supposed to *receive* Mr. Green? And what's *kunch--->*? I was staring at the post-it for several minutes, confused and angry. It took a while to figure out that the bosses had asked me to send the letter marked "--->" aka near the post-it note to Mr. Green before lunch.
The other one is spelling. The bosses make so many mistakes in names and places that I keep on calling wrong contractors and talk to them about something they have no idea about.
The third annoying thing is that they give contradictory instructions. Consequently, I end up carrying out unnecessary tasks. That's frustrating.
Tuesday, November 18
weekend post
A whole weekend on my own was something I'd been longing for awhile.
So I walked in one of the most beautiful parks of Oranienbaum, fed fat happy ducks and took photos of picturesque lanscapes, which reminded me of some fantasy stories about magicians, princesses and evil knights.
In the evening I dined at a nice little cafe, and then joined my friends at a beauty shop. It was a funny hen-party: we chatted a lot, had manicure and hair done and then headed to my appartment to get a couple of mojitos.
Friday, November 14
animal planet
"May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
Thursday, November 13
You've been tagged
And now... *TAG* time.
Beautiful Mich tagged me with the Bookworm award!
I (and those tagged below) are to open the closest book to page 46 and write out the 5th sentence on that page (and the following 2-5 sentences after).
As I'm reading a Russian novel now, the extract below is a translation from Russian into English. here it goes.
A Corn Crake was crying monotonously. Repetitive “crex crex” was confidently carried far in the air. The stars were twinkling slowly, the night was tranquil and silent, and everything around was still, indifferent and confident in its peaceful and mysterious beauty.
Tired, seething with smouldering irritation, I had a seat on a bench. Suddenly, close to me, a sound of an attuning violin came through the night. Surprised, I glanced back.
The Bookworm award goes to:
Beautiful Mich tagged me with the Bookworm award!
I (and those tagged below) are to open the closest book to page 46 and write out the 5th sentence on that page (and the following 2-5 sentences after).
As I'm reading a Russian novel now, the extract below is a translation from Russian into English. here it goes.
A Corn Crake was crying monotonously. Repetitive “crex crex” was confidently carried far in the air. The stars were twinkling slowly, the night was tranquil and silent, and everything around was still, indifferent and confident in its peaceful and mysterious beauty.
Tired, seething with smouldering irritation, I had a seat on a bench. Suddenly, close to me, a sound of an attuning violin came through the night. Surprised, I glanced back.
The Bookworm award goes to:
So tell me please, my dear blogger friends, whatcha reading?
inspiration
Since there is not much inspiration at work, I keep on looking for it elsewhere, mainly books. The beauty of literature is that it provides a great variety of inspiring life stories, poems and anecdotes. I like adventurous stories most, because they give a chance to travel to all those places I may be or may not be to one day.
One of my favourites is Louis Henri Boussenard's, as his stories are both funny and educating. I even had a crash on one of his characters Monsieur Andre. He was a wonderful hunter, traveller and adventurer, who never talked much, but accomplished a lot. Besides, he spoke French, the language of love. Monsieur Andre and his friend took me on a marvellous voyage through Africa, India and even America. It was unforgettable. I also travelled with Ernest Hemingway's novels, and grew to love a lot of countries thanks to them.
Later, I realised that travelling in both real and fiction worlds I have almost forgotten how beautiful my own country was. That is why I am now back to Russian literature and rediscovering the subtlety and refinement in it. The experience is amazing!
One of my favourites is Louis Henri Boussenard's, as his stories are both funny and educating. I even had a crash on one of his characters Monsieur Andre. He was a wonderful hunter, traveller and adventurer, who never talked much, but accomplished a lot. Besides, he spoke French, the language of love. Monsieur Andre and his friend took me on a marvellous voyage through Africa, India and even America. It was unforgettable. I also travelled with Ernest Hemingway's novels, and grew to love a lot of countries thanks to them.
Later, I realised that travelling in both real and fiction worlds I have almost forgotten how beautiful my own country was. That is why I am now back to Russian literature and rediscovering the subtlety and refinement in it. The experience is amazing!
Tuesday, November 11
sweet routine
It's such a pleasure to be back to usual activities: making new contracts, discussing terms and conditions of it, settling the disputes. At this point all managers and lawyers are very nice and polite to each other and supportive, because they create something new and exciting that'll bring in much profit. I just love it.
Moreover a logistics manager has presented a small branch of wild rosemary, which he brought from his businesstrip, another manager got me a chocolate. Such sweet moments persuade me that the job is not that bad after all.
Still looking for a new one, though.
Moreover a logistics manager has presented a small branch of wild rosemary, which he brought from his businesstrip, another manager got me a chocolate. Such sweet moments persuade me that the job is not that bad after all.
Still looking for a new one, though.
Monday, November 10
Friday, November 7
three life-changing questions
Definelife has recently posted "three life-changing questions", which I tried to answer and see if I should do anything about my life.
1) Are you doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
As for work, I'm doing the same things every day and not expecting a different result as there're no options at all. So now I'm doing my best to find a new job, which, I hope, will be more multifarious and exciting to fulfil.
As for teaching, it is never the same, as the science is developing, pupils are growing, new books are being released, and these factors provide a huge variety of opportunities for self-education. The more I learn the better teacher I become. Сonsequently, results are different in a positive way.
2) Are you doing nothing but expecting something?
Yes, I am doing nothing about my love life, mainly because I just don't know what to undertake to meet my Mr. Right. Do you have any suggestions? I'd be really grateful if you share at least some of them.
3) Are you being who you are or who you are expected to be by others?
I am usually who I am expected to be and these social roles change hundreds of times every day. I'm either a nice patient teacher or a cold exigent manager or a party animal, what not.
Guess, that is why I like travelling. For some reasons, I can be my own self only far far away from home. There I become a free spirit, an adventurous lady.
Thursday, November 6
... on the phone again
The advantage of a four-day weekend is that there's a chance to sleep a lot and the disadvantage is that the following working days are rather hectic.
We gathered all the papers to open an account in another bank and informed everybody to transfer the money to it. Unfortunatelly, some partners ignored the message and used an old account again, which means I now have more paperwork to do and phone calls to make. It is not going to be fun.
Fortunatelly, a new accountant starts on Monday, so I'll be dismissed from finances. And I go back to translating and negotiations. What a relief!
Wednesday, November 5
a weekend post
Thanks to a national holiday we had four days-off instead of two. If only there always were four-day weekends. So I got a chance to sleep a lot, meet friends and watch the movie Sex In The City finally. It reminded me that it's time to get some new clothes, which will keep me both warm and happy.
I also got a chance to read the book "Pharaoh" by Boleslaw Prus to the very end. It's an amazing book about the daily routine of Ancient Egypt and its mysteries. I was surprised to find a lot of similarities between the modern and the ancient worlds.
The novel is set in the Egypt of 1087–1085 BCE as that country experiences internal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of its Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. As events unfold, the protagonist Ramses learns that those who would challenge the powers that be are vulnerable to cooption, seduction, subornation, defamation, intimidation and assassination. Perhaps the chief lesson, belatedly absorbed by Ramses as pharaoh, is the importance of power of knowledge.
I also got a chance to read the book "Pharaoh" by Boleslaw Prus to the very end. It's an amazing book about the daily routine of Ancient Egypt and its mysteries. I was surprised to find a lot of similarities between the modern and the ancient worlds.
The novel is set in the Egypt of 1087–1085 BCE as that country experiences internal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of its Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. As events unfold, the protagonist Ramses learns that those who would challenge the powers that be are vulnerable to cooption, seduction, subornation, defamation, intimidation and assassination. Perhaps the chief lesson, belatedly absorbed by Ramses as pharaoh, is the importance of power of knowledge.
Saturday, November 1
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