Friday night and no fever

Hello all visitors - from down under too :-)

Finally - another weekend.

This has been an eventful week I must say.

First there has been this move and cleaning of the office area. We are going to have a new canteen soon and everyone is looking forward to it being opened.

Second, we have a new supervisor. Let's say his name is John (although his real name is different of course). He has a hands-on, no-nonsense approach and has a huge drive to change things. He has a strong personality ... well just like me. I hope there is going to easy going co-operation between us. I see some potential area for personality clashes already and it is good I do; then I will act to minimise the risk. As it is weekend, I do not want to write about my boss too much but the next few weeks are going to be very interesting. Some update will be coming soon.

Third, I got my car sorted. The window was fitted last Tuesday in my company parking lot.
My car was fully serviced on Friday. Then I took it to a car wash and vacuumed all the glass from the floor and the seats. I had it washed too and then went for a ride around the city. I went to see a friend too and I cleaned the interior then too. I live in the city centre and it feels kinda awkward to run between my apartment and the busy street with some water in a bowl. It is easier to do those things in a private parking area.

So ... after I finished that and said good night to M. I drove to see my other friend A. We went shopping together. I was starving after all this cleaning and driving I must say. I had to buy just the regular stuff like but there was one treat as well - a pack of three DVDs: GoodFellas, True Romance, Heat. Criminal masterclass, says on the cover. So I will enjoy watching those soon.

I remember here I wanted to add something more on All the King's Men and The Good Shepherd but I cannot find time to sit down to that. I am always busy and tonight I am simply very tired. I will try to make some effort and May sounds like a good month for updates - I am going on long holidays.

I hope though I will have a job to come back to. Over the past 4 weeks my company laid off more than 100 staff. have my job for now and my project is one of the busiest in the office. There will be overtime coming too I imagine. Still I had a dream I was to be fired and I could not sleep last night for it. So I better wind it down now and say good night. I hope to have better dreams tonight.

P.S.
I took this photo in Yellowstone NP. This bird was just behind my window and I could observe it, its eggs and then its little offspring. During the time I lived in that room, this offspring learnt to fly and by the time I moved the nest was empty.

Office on the move

After we moved to our new office, the cleaning guys started removing all the stuff from the other office space. They dismantled all the partitions and put all the remaining things in the middle of the floor.

This bin is going to be removed soon. I managed to do a quick pic with my mobile phone camera.

Bacio # 1

Real friendship can be enjoyed in silence

***
A word of explanation here: I decided to start a new series on my blog.

I was in Milan at the beginning of February and, following my friend's advice, I got some good Italian chocolate sweets. They are called Baci. Baci means kisses and those chocolates are really as sweet as good kisses. Each sweet "kiss" is individually wrapped and around it you also find a little piece of paper with a proverb in five languages. The one about friendship I found today.
I always look forward to having a Bacio [singular of Baci] just because I am curious as to what I am going to find when I unwrap it.

To illustrate this proverb about friendship I decided to use the photo I took just at the beginning of a trip to Milan. We were flying over the Alps.
My friend invited me to go with her to Italy and it was the best birthday gift I could get. We had a great stay and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. This invitation really made my day or even more than just one day :-) Thank you again ...
Second reason why I wanted to use this particular photo is because it reminds me of "Touching the Void". This movie is both about male friendship and one man's fight for life in extreme cirmustances of Peruvian Andes. Recommended viewing.
Another post from this series coming soon.

Rafael

Here are the photos of the lovely horse I rode yesterday. He is incredibly dynamic, very fast and a good goer. By far, Rafael is the best horse I have ever ridden. He is a good jumper too and, needless to say, I cannot wait to ride on him again.

In this photo, we were just about to start countering.
I lost my right stirrup as you can see but it did not really matter then;
I know how to stay on.

Good job, Rafael! This was not exactly the end of the riding but my photographer went missing. I do not want to say where ;-)
We finished some time after so I unsaddled my horse, led him back to the stable and took off the bridle and reins. I enjoyed doing that too - seeing the horse off, giving him some hay and saying "till the next time" :-)
I promised him I would bring some carrots as well.

My Tamed Rose

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint - Exupery.
Chapter Twenty-One.

... this is the chapter when the little prince meets the fox ...

... here are some sentences i find so brilliant ...

Beginning of quote

'Come and play with me,' suggested the little prince. I am so terribly sad...'
'I cannot play with you,' said the fox. 'I am not tame.'
(...)
'What does "tame" mean?'
'It is something which is too often forgotten,' said the fox. 'It means to establish ties...'
' "To establish ties"?'
'That's right,' said the fox. 'To me, you are still just a little boy like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either. To you, I am just a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we shall need one another. To me, you will be unique. And I shall be unique to you.'
(...)
'My life is monotonous' (...) But if you tame me, my life will be full of sunshine. I shall recognise the sound of a step different from all others. The other steps send me hurrying underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like the sound of music. And look yonder! Do you see the cornfields? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. Those cornfields don't remind me of anything. And I find that rather sad! But you have hair the colour of gold. So it will be marvellous when you have tamed me. Wheat, which is also golden, will remind me of you. And I shall love the sound of the wind in the wheat...'
(...)
'One can only understand the things one tames,' said the fox. 'Men have no more time to understand anything.They buy ready-made things in the shops. But since there are no shops where you can buy friends, men no longer have any friends. If you want a friend, tame me!
'What should I do?' asked the little prince.'
'You must be very patient,' replied the fox. 'First you will sit down at a little distance from me, like that, in the grass. I shall watch you out of the corner of my eye and you will say nothing. Words are a source of misunderstanding. But every day, you can sit a little closer to me...'
(...)
'You should (...) come back at the same time,' said the fox. 'If for example you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, I shall start feeling happy at three o'clock. As the time passes, I shall feel happier. At four o'clock, I shall become agitated and start worrying. I shall discover the price of happiness. But if you come at just any time, I shall never know when I should prepare my heart to greet you... One must observe certain rites.'
'What is a rite?' asked the little prince.
'It is something which is all too often forgotten,' said the fox. 'It is what makes one day different from other days, one hour different from other hours.'
(...)
Thus it was that the little prince tamed the fox. And when the time came for his departure, the fox said: 'Oh! ... I shall cry.'
'It is your own fault,' said the little prince. 'I wished you no harm but you wanted me to tame you.'
'Yes, indeed,' said the fox.
'But you are going to cry!' said the little prince.
'That is so,' said the fox.
'Then it has not helped you in any way!'
'It has helped me,' said the fox, 'because of the colour of the wheatfields.' Then he added: 'Go and have another look at the roses. And you will understand that yours is indeed unique in all the world. Then you will come back to say good bye to me and I shall tell you a secret as a gift.'
(...)
'It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.'
(...)
'Men have forgotten this basic truth,' said the fox. 'But you must not forget it. For what you have tamed, you become responsible forever. You are responsible for your rose...'

End of quote
[Italics are mine, I must add]

This picture of the rose at the beginning of this post is not a very good one. It is blurred. Out of focus. Still, this is the pic I took and that is what makes it and the flower unique. Yes, yes, this could be just an ordinary rose but because I liked it and wanted to take a photo of it, it has become unique. Simple.

Anything we encounter, touch, or tame, becomes unique. Anything we decide to "tame" , we become responsible for even if sometimes we fail to acknowledge this responsibility.

To Be Continued

BREAKING NEWS

Indeed breaking.
7.30 AM - this.

I called 112 and the Mayfield gardai arrived at c. 7.45. Very quickly. This is the first time in my life that I had to call the gardai because something wrong happened. Having an empty wallet stolen - laughable. Having a car window broken is bad enough though.

Sickening morning I must say. There was glass all over the pavement. There is still broken glass inside the car - everywhere: on the dashboard, by the meter, on the floor, in the glove compartment, and on the seats apparently. On the pavement there were also remains of a vodka bottle that was used to break my window. On the floor in my car there is the neck of another bottle I think. As you can see on this pic, there is a blood stain on the door. There is a little amount of blood inside too. There was blood on the pavement as well. Ugh...

My car was towed away this morning for Technical Examination. The gardai took the finger prints; hence the dust on the door and the roof. They took the blood samples too and said they would keep in touch. I doubt they find anyone though. Mind, there are no CCTV cameras. It is the very heart of Cork city!!! There is a camera over one shop - facing in another direction. There is another camera directed at a nearby ATM. But there is nothing to record what is happening between the ATM and the shop. Disgrace.

I took a bus to work but was late only 3o minutes. Probably I will put it down on my timesheet as Force Majeure leave or just costly holidays.

At work - more news of a different kind. One of the people I supervise will be assigned to a different team so no more conflict at work!!! Good. The another person ... hmm news is not that good for him, he is not going to show up at my company at all some time soon. Well, that's the Irish job market. One company pulling out from it and here is its knock-on effect.

That news came at 17.30. I already left the building by that time. I was told about it later by my work colleague. As we commute together, she asked when I was going to get the window fixed. Bad question. I phoned tens of places today and right-hand side windows for this car make are out of stock!!! She does not care though. I should fix it ASAP so that she does not need to spend 1.35 euro for a bus each morning and each evening (excuse me here if I made mistake with bus fare in Cork. I was too shaken this morning to notice how much change I got). After all she has her plans, doesn't she? She has a loan to pay off so bus tickets are too expensive. She had squash classes and I can always give her a lift after work, right?

How cheeky can you be to ask me a question like this? Her voice implied: "there is a demand for your car so when will you get it fixed?" Feck off I could say. Such a window costs what it costs. She has not even paid for the fuel this month. Grrrr.

Anyway, straight after work I went to Mayfield. As another of my work colleagues was heading to the same garda station, I managed to get a lift. I collected my car and well ... went to my friend's to leave the car in a quiet area. I do not want anyone to get into it, drive away in it or some boy racer to take it for a ride and then burn it. After all, since I cannot get a window, I would be able to claim damage if anything else happened. After all my car is an easy target now. Nothing will happen though. I do not really think so.

I must say the thing that happened this morning is not a big deal. I am alive and well. I still have my job. I have good friends who care. Friends who showed today that they do - asking how it was going, wishing good luck, asking around for car windows, and giving me all the helpful phone numbers, or giving me a lift. I may need some more lifts this weekend still.

Tomorrow is Friday and then there is another good weekend coming. I will study toward exams (unfortunately today I could not but it was due to some unforeseen circumstances). I am horse riding on Saturday. There is some feeling of disappointment down there though.

Disappointment at some drunk person who did it. Disappointment at the work colleague who proved to be very selfish. Disappointment that the windows are out of stock and I feel vulnerable. I feel grounded as well and frustrated a bit. There are some strange feelings I cannot quite name yet. I am not yet sure what the balance is going to be but I want to think it will be positive in the end.

silence

Source

Nice, nicer ...

Another great day here in Cork – and that’s not only weather-wise.

I am sitting in a new office – very close to the window. I regret I cannot have my desk out there in the parking lot but most probably that would not be a good idea.
The documents would be flying all over the parking area… but this room is so much better and brighter. I do have a window and a view; before there were only some ugly partitions.

Then, the view I have is lovely. I can see blue sky, a few white clouds here and there, and lots of green trees. Maybe that does not sound like something too special; after all behind my window there are no mountains, or a lake, or a beach. Still, it is enough. I can hear birds singing too. Me sitting here … can be quite bad for my company’s business ;-)

I am in a very good mood today. Once, we finally moved to a new room. Second, I love horse riding and yesterday we had a great lesson; it was a great laugh too. There were only four of us so we could practice more and jump more too. It is so relaxing to go horse riding right after work – all the stress is gone from the system. I just enjoy the experience and I do not think about anything else. Last night was totally brilliant. I know it may sound cheap or exaggerated but it was brilliant. The evening was warm and the wind very mild. We rode outdoors, very close to the beach. The view of the water, the sun setting had a soothing effect; on the other hand, the physical effort associated with horse riding and the sheer pleasure derived from it were most invigorating and energising.

Then I went home and took a warm shower … applied body butter … and got wrapped up in a warm bathrobe … a divine feeling of total relaxation …

I had a wonderful time.

I am having a good time now as well. I am working away at my project. The system connection is rather slow today so I manage to add a few words to this post every now and again; the job gets done anyway.

Besides the nice view from the window, there are nice job prospects too. For my company I mean.
For example, this does not look bad, does it?

source of the image plus the article - here

total bliss

Not too many words today. I am feeling great now.
Maybe I will write a post later to say why.
Here it goes - photo from Garretstown beach. I feel the way I felt when I was there; well, kind off that way.

Or maybe better still, I feel as if I just walked on grass with my feet naked.

I feel energised and it is a great sensation.

Light playing on water series

Here comes another one - similar in composition yet different. The greyish waters are a good background against the bird's blue wings and dark blue tail.
Taken from Patrick's Brigde.

Light playing on water series

What I like most about this photo is the contrast between the constantly changing light pattern and the steadiness of the bird.
The pic was taken from the bridge near the Morrison Island.

Quiet Easter Monday

Hello everyone visiting my blog.

I hope you enjoyed your long Easter weekend :-)

I enjoyed mine a lot. It was a very quiet and relaxing one, spent bathing in the sun, reading (a book on genetics - very interesting and entertaining) and studying toward my exams a bit.

I finally managed to see a movie I had intention to see a long time ago - namely The Story of Sin (Dzieje Grzechu). It was quite an interesting choice of movie to watch over Easter period... Just messing here... In fact, this is a drama about unrequited love ... and the title is very pertinent to the story. I enjoyed watching it though I thought at the beginning it would be just boring and not worth it. My praise here goes to the cameraman too - good job, great sensual images! Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Johann Pachelbel is so well chosen too.
NB. The movie is based on a novel by Stefan Zeromski.

I am listening to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos now. A real treat to make my day as recently I had so had little time to do anything else but work, study and sleep. I hope to enjoy more things soon. Of course tomorrow I am horse riding again :)

Talking about horse riding...

In one of the Eastern European countries, on Easter Monday a special custom can be witnessed. C. 60 horse riders from the Upper Silesia proceed through their village of Ostropa and the nearby fields praying for good crops. This custom is thought to be pagan in origin and was later christianised. Here go some images (the source is GW):


More images here.

This custom has been preserved only in Ostropa and two other places in the country. Still, another Easter Monday custom is widely spread in several Eastern European countries and way too well preserved. This one is not nice - especially for the fairer sex. On Easter (Wet) Monday men pour buckets of water on women. Supposedly this has something to do with rebirth and fertility and has its roots in some pagan beliefs but who would think about it now? Youth takes it as an opportunity to have "fun" and catch as many (sometimes unsuspecting) victims as possible. For me there would be nothing nice in getting wet while on a walk or a way to the church (water is easy to get as in the town where my parents live there is a fountain in a park close by).

Good that I am in Ireland now. The weather here was better and no crazy youth with buckets in sight. I was in Grand Parade park and there were loads of teenagers - good they have no clue about this custom ;-) mind there is a fountain there as well!

Here go some images of "smingus dyngus":

Women are supposed to do the same to men on Tuesday following Easter Monday but then everyone goes to work and it never happens...

More images - here.
Source - GW

HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND

All the best to everyone on this gorgeous, totally summer-like weekend.
Do all the things you best enjoy doing.

:-)

I just got back from horse riding lessons ( 2 hours this time) and now I am out in a few minutes - to soak in the sun and relax.

P.S.
The pic is of the magnolia that grows in my parents' garden. I am going to see them in May and I am counting down the days. I expect the magnolia will be in full bloom then.
...
By the way, Easter is not the same when you spend it alone. It is the same with Christmas or any other holiday. I do realize here it is a commomplace but...
It's good I have friends; without them ... I cannot even say. Immigrant life is not bad when you think about it but, at times, it is not easy either .

Wednesday - on an ambiguous note

Hi again here.

I am sitting in my warm room in front of my laptop. It's quite quiet - except for a plane flying over Cork and the radio playing.

Today was a very strange day. It was yesterday on the radio that I heard the news on Amgen plant 2 years' delay. I realized what it might mean only today though. I was very busy at work all day, I had to attend a long and important meeting, prepare lot of stuff for posting etc, etc so I did not have much time to dwell on the news but I could sense the uneasy atmosphere in the entire office with people moving around, gathering in rooms, and vividly talking.

I talked with some of my work colleagues and started worrying a bit myself. We have been all waiting for some news and growing more and more uneasy about our jobs. It's so weird and new to me to think about a job loss but since we do not know much yet, it is better not to worry too much for now.

I hope we learn something more tomorrow. Then there is Easter break and sure we need to know as soon as possible what is going to happen. I have some ideas already; I have had them for a longer time now so it may be a good moment to let them resurface. I am being positive.

Image source.
Here go some links to articles on Amgen:
RTE Finfacts Ireland in-Pharmatechnologist

Bad Tuesday.

What a hell of a day I had today. This happens so rarely and so it is really annoying when it does.

First there is that long and unresolved conflict at work that has been going on for about 4 months. In other words - since I was promoted to a lead position. Yesterday (I really hate Mondays at work) it reached its peak. I will not go into details here; the story has its twists and turns and would be too long-winded. The point is - either I go or the other person goes.

Today it was quiet but my manager is back tomorrow so something is bound to happen. Still, with the Amgen putting its plan to build the pharmaceutical factory in Carrigtwohill on hold, there is less work in my company too. So I don't know what is going to happen.

What I know is that tomorrow there is a crucial meeting with one of our clients. The pressure is definitely on the rise. I still must prepare some things for that meeting still.

My mood is quite bad now. I have a running nose, I could not sleep well last night. Even horse riding went bad today. It was a brilliant evening, sun was low and the views were lovely - with the beach and water so close. The clouds were low and dark, with the sun rays streaming through them. Great weather for riding. Still my horse was as nervous as I was. Once I got her going right but then she got scared of something and started going in circles like a mad animal. I almost fell as I lost both stirrups but I held on by wrapping my legs tightly around the horse's belly.

In the car I must have been so nervous that my car did not want to listen me either! Well, almost. I let go off the clutch too soon ... screech was terrible ... no comment here :-(

Now I am safely at home. I am going to bed now. Good at least that I managed to finish one written translation for tomorrow.

I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Friday is a day off for me. That's real good.
So till later. Bye for now.

Horse jump

I cannot jump that well yet or that high. I definitely enjoy it though - I did my first jumps today :-) Great feeling; huge adrenaline rush !!!

Image source

Walk on a Friday evening.

I just got back from the walk around a part of the north side of Cork. It was chilly enough but I enjoyed it and took a few photos too. Still before I left I decided to immortalise my plant, my little jungle. Whenever I look at it, I am reminded of "Léon" movie by Luc Besson. The protagonist loved his plant.

Here come two more photos of my little jungle :-)

I chose only a few photos from my late walk tonight. I like this one for its strange dark shade of violet and the sun setting above the crane.

This one presents Cork at c. 6.30 pm. I am not sure exactly what appeals so much to me in this one. Maybe the cars whose owners head home after work - up the hill, as if toward the church on the hill. I guess it is the church in Knockaheeny but I am not sure now. I feel a bit ashamed of it!

Here the last three photos for tonight. One - of the steam over the Cork brewery. I will not name it as they do not pay me for any advertising :-) Here I must add I am not into industrial espionage; I deal with another kind of spying... The crane is here because I just like it. A person who works up there must have brilliant views all over the city and further away.

For me as a nightskyspy, the moon still remains the favourite celestial body.

The Good Shepherd - part one.

As I am in the movie vain, here goes another post - this time on "The Good Shepherd." The post will be short for now as this movie is multi-layered and it hard to grasp all the nuances of the plot just after watching it once. I will wait till it is released on dvd and when I watch it the second time I might add something more.
The film itself is dark and complicated or rather I would say obscure; maybe intentionally so as it is about a secret organisation.
The protagonist figure of Edward Wilson is inspired by a real-life agent, James Jesus Angleton, whose charismatic personality and thorough knowledge of his colleagues' private lives made people uneasy in his presence. In turn, his willingness to sacrifice (almost) anything for his country made him a tragic figure; Willy Stark was also a tragic figure but in a totally different way (about that I will write later).
***
I will try to get hold of the book by Tom Mangold on J.J.Angleton. The title is "Cold Warrior: James Jesus Angleton - The CIA's Master Spyhunter." Here is a review.
***
For those curious or those who have not seen the movie, here is the short summary of the plot.

All the King's Men - part two.

First of all I wanted to say that Sean Penn's perfomance in this movie is brilliant, befitting the king. I could not find any weak points in his acting (maybe except for the last scene of the movie but once you see it, you'll understand). I was not looking at Sean Penn on the screen - it was Willie Stark, with all of his cold calculation, love of power, readiness to destroy opponents using blackmail and other "dark" means. Still, Willie Stark had the magnetic and powerful personality and was able to give great speaches which won him the people's hearts and votes. He was a brilliant if controversial and corrupted-by-power politician.

In particular I love one scene from this movie. During one of his numerous speaches, Willie Stark says: "Nobody ever helped a hick but a hick himself." Catchy but straight talking.
(more quotes here but this movie is a must)

source of the poster and the photo

All the King's Men - part one.

I just finished watching this movie and am going straight to sleep. I read the novel too - by Robert Penn Warren. I used to be fascinated by the Southern Literature.
Now only one more thing before I fall asleep. It took long time for Jack Burden to put all pieces together to find out what was going on. When am I going to put all the pieces together so that I can see the bigger picture if not the whole one? Is it at all possible?
***
"What you don't know won't hurt you." Food for thought - not for now though.