Ride on ... See you

Tonight I had my usual Tuesday riding lesson. I do enjoy going there straight after work and relaxing during this fast -flying hour. I was on Blu this time again. He had a break last week and was back in shape tonight so I was happy to have him.
I feel I have made big progress since I rode on him in June (when the picture was taken). I canter better, I jump better, I sit better in the saddle, I am stronger on a horse and enjoying riding more and more. I also notice it all comes naturally to me, which is also a change.

While I was driving from work to my riding school, the following song was on the radio. I found it really suiting the moment! I liked it a lot too and I think the version by Christy Moore played then on the radio is better than the one by Cruachan. I liked it better anyway.




Ride On


True you ride the finest horse
I've ever seen;
Standing Sixteen one or two
with eyes wild and green.
And you ride the horse so well,
hands light to the touch,
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to

Ride on, see you
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to
Ride on, see you
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to
[ http://www.rare-lyrics.com ]

When you ride into the night
without a trace behind,
run your claw along my gut, one last time.
I turn to face an empty space, where you use to lie,
and look for the spark
that lights the night
through a teardrop in my eye

Ride on, see you
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to
Ride on, see you
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to

lyrics taken from here.

Spathiphylium II

small plant, small problem.
big plant, big problem.
Since I replanted my Spathiphylium in August, it has been growing like mad and had a second big flower bloom. It is really growing so quickly and is a beautiful plant now. I will have to get a very big pot for her next spring; way bigger than this one.

I am happy to see her grow like this though.

driving to M

so i am back ...

back from another interpreting job in a hospital, back from another horse riding lesson

[it was great today. i was on a horse i had never ridden before and oh isn't he fast and lovely, and strong. Thierry may be called a grumpy old man, but there is no better horse to canter and to jump; he is really soft and easy going]

and soon leaving for M, a little town in west Cork to see M :)

it is not necessary to drive to M all night but here it goes, maybe a good song to hum while driving.



her voice is so powerful, even more so in this acapella version.

friday night / saturday morning

i just got back from a pub where we were having some farewell drinks with the girl who left my company today. we had a good night, talking, laughing, enjoying ourselves.
well, i got back home with this song on my mind:



i am not sure why but i was just humming it on the way back so i listened to it on youtube.

i also found this video so hmmm i will post it here. to clear any doubts (if M is wondering), i am not dedicating this song to ted ;)

SLOW DOWN

Poll: Who do you think is most to blame for the current high level of road deaths? The Government 11% Gardai 5% Road Safety Authority 3% Drivers 81%

[source: irishhealth.com]

If I was asked to take part in this poll, I would say: the drivers. They sit behind the wheel, they are focused (or not) on the road and they do know Irish roads are far from perfect.
The roads here are narrow, winding, and, simply, not safe. True, along most of those roads, there are signs displayed that maximum speed is 100 km/h. I tried this speed once and nearly lost control of my car. I usually travel at lesser speed and if if means there is a queue of some cars behind me, then... well... tough. I am not in a hurry for my own funeral.

I think we should remember about it every day - that we are responsible not only for our own lives but also for the lives of others.

Perhaps today we should remember it in particular. Today is All Saints' Day when we remember our dead and maybe ponder how fragile life is.

In Poland the beginning of November is a very busy time for the police. 10 thousand policemen and policewomen were deployed in the country last Wed and will work till Sunday night to make sure Polish roads are safer. They appeal to drivers to slow down as roads are slippery, to pedestrians to wear high-vis items of clothing, and to all to be very careful.

At the end of this post, I want to mention some statistics.

In 2007 from January till September:
on the Irish roads: 252 killed
on the Polish roads: 3971 killed

It means more than 4000 new graves so far and more than 4000 lives lost.

Slow down on your way wherever you are going.



Updated on 2007-11-02
According to the Polish police, the first days of November are most dangerous on Polish roads. On Wednesday Oct 31 and Thursday Nov 1, 35 persons were killed and 354 injured in 306 car accidents. 743 drink drivers were caught.


* In Poland the max concentration of alcohol in blood is 0.2 per cent while in Ireland it is o.8 per cent (when breath testing, the legal limit in Ireland is 0.35 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath).

some of my sources:
Citizens Information
Policja

Reading, writing, and other things.

After some break from reading, I started on another book by Orhan Pamuk - My Name Is Red. I must say it begins in an intriguing way and it is hard to put it away. It seems totally different than "Snow" too.
The covers of both books well reflect the contents . While "Snow" is about winter, cold, freezing times, "My Name Is Red" and its half red cover seem to accentuate the hidden passions, secrets and mysteries of the life in Istanbul in the times of Great Sultan.
I am now reading chapter 6 so later on I may add some more on the book.
I have to read my college book too (a chapter on HR) and then I got engrossed in Fantasy Football. Emotions run high on the pitch.

Plus I have been tagged with "when i become a famous rider..." by rough hands. Aagghhh I must think about something and write a post on it so. I had a riding lesson last night but I decided not to take part in the show jumping league that takes place every Friday. I fell during my first competition and well I must still practice before I can jump.
So I must think what will happen when I become a famous rider.

Bacio # 5

Treat your friends as you would your paintings and show them in their best light. J. J. Churchill

photographer's block...

ahhh it seems to be a strange period now. I have lived in a new place for more than a month now and I feel very good here. The transition between the old place and the new place was pretty seamless and now everything is just going fine. Now I need less time to get to work and I have it closer to Hop Island where I go horse riding. I have it easier to do some quick shopping on the way back too. To get to my college takes more time now though and I take a car to get there (before I would walk) and then it is so hard to find a parking space in the city. I must think of some solutions before my next classes (this Thursday) but it will be grand soon. On the whole it is good but it has gotten a bit of a routine too. It is not to say that routine is bad; some things need to be well organised and running smoothly. Still no day is the same and I move forward every day and it is nice to feel I am not stuck in a rut, as the saying goes.

I have noticed a bit of a photographer's block recently but hopefully it will pass... along with some kind of a writer's block too!

Peace Lily

My Spathiphylium or Peace Lily was kindly posing for a picture this quiet Saturday afternoon.
I got her when she was very small for my 2o odd birthday less than 3 years ago. She had a few white flowers then but once they faded, she did not bloom at all.
I did not give it much thought but just watered it regularly.
I decided to repot here before I would go on my holidays at the end of August. I split the plant into two because it was so big. One part ended up in the new flower pot with fresh earth; the other part remained in the old pot but with fresh earth too.
I moved to a new place and left for Eastern Europe. When I came back after the few days I found the plant in the new flower pot blooming! That was a great surprise. Now it has two white flowers and I hope it will have more soon. Apparently, it must like its new place here.
***
Some credit must go here to M too - for providing some items necessary for successful repotting, a few tips, and of course for this nice ceramic pot.

M like ,,, Myrtleville

hmmm ... how to say "hello" after almost two months of not blogging? a lot have happened and this has been quite a busy time. yet, it has also been a very relaxing, wonderful time. while those last few days Poland has been battered by rains, we have had a lovely spell of Indian summer here in Ireland. True, we were in Poland the first few days in September and we got cold so it was good to come back to this nice weather. Yesterday we spent the day here ..

and we had a nice swim too! Waves were coming - one warm and one cold alternatively, which I found unusual. It was the first time i swam in the ocean :)

***
On other things that happened:
I have moved to a different place now - with a garden and in a quiet area :) so I am happy
(with the change of address, there has been a change in my phone number too).
I am back to college next week ahhh ... back to studying.
It is time to go back to horse riding too.

***
Thank you and credit for the photo go to M. who has a good eye.

Update

Strawberries seem to be over this year. I do not mean there will be no more strawberries in the shops this year; most probably they will be. The nicest, sweetest strawberries are only in May and June though. This photo presents Polish strawberries [just in case someone was wondering what "nationality" they were ;) ]

Then, waiting for the exams results is too. I got the envelope on July the 6th and then I was a bit too busy to post. Late but here it goes. I passed all the three exams with distinction (70% +) :) and I know that my holidays from college will be over sometime in mid-September. So I am enjoying my free evenings now and I put the management books away for now. I should be back to "Lapidarium VI" now so till the next post and next updates ...

It's a waiting game ...

waiting
waiting
waiting
for some things that are yet to come; today is like an enormous waiting room and now the question is of striking that balance between instant and postponed fulfillment:
texts / emails from friends - varied times and not always predictable but it is nice to wait for those;
horse riding - closer and closer because tomorrow night, 7 pm;
the beginning of the weekend - close enough: Friday noon;
exams results - should be this week, should have been today but i found nothing under my door (it is getting annoying now; i want to know!);
second year in college - September 2007 if i have passed. i am looking forward to it because at the end of my course i will get my cert.
advancement in career - well, gradually getting there, slowly but surely; takes time and requires patience but seems like a sure investment.
Garda Reserve application results - "yes" or "no" later this year.

A few travels, books to be read, music to listen to, movies to watch - as i go.

A lot to wait for and to look forward to.

Yet, there are some other things I have been waiting for - for a long time. They are important and personal; they make me see the bigger pictures better and i could call them my gentle priorities even if that is an unusual metaphor.

A certain song has been coming back to me quite a few times over the past two months or so.
It seems kinda proper to post it here;



I will not write here though if I got my answer ... too personal.

Bacio # 4

Laughter makes you young. Love makes you beautiful.

Monday...

Another Monday almost over. It has not been a bad day. I overslept this morning but I was not late for work so that's good even if I was a bit annoyed by it. Being late for work has not happened to me since I started working there and usually I am a very punctual person. Yet, this morning my friends had to wait for me as we go to work together - in my car. They did not mind at all though.
Day at work pretty much flew. I was a bit angry still by my near-lateness and so got more easily annoyed by others today. I have worked in this company for 10 months and there are still some people who get my name wrong. It is not despite their best efforts. It is because they do not even try to get it right. I thought, it is my name for f**k's sake. I would just correct one lady today (she used the male version of my name!!!). I also corrected my boss today but it was okay with him; someone misled him a bit when he wanted to get it right. He just said I lost my temper too easily. Maybe I do; still some things make my blood boil (this one made my blood warmer by a few degrees ;))
***
One bit of news here:
I am expecting to get my exams results sometime in the middle of next week. I hope they will be a good reason to celebrate.
***
Anyway, I am going to sleep earlier tonight. Last night I watched American Beauty - I saw it a good few years ago and I wanted to get to it again and enjoy it. Enjoy the words they say (some of the quotes are so beautiful...)
Then I read some beautiful words in an email I got and I wanted to reply. I went to bed later than usual so.
Now I am reading Lapidarium VI by Ryszard Kapuscinski. It is not an easy book to read; yet it is simple at the same time. I may post something more on it later.

The photo is of a park in Douglas. I had a very relaxing time there. It was warm and I would just walk around and take some pictures, or just look around and enjoy the sun and watching the bird(s).Time for my magic potion now and for hitting the pillow. Good night.

Dead Can Dance - The Wind That Shakes The Barley

This Irish theme got stuck in my head today after I listened to this song at work. It reminded me of the movie too. So here it goes. I find this song moving but for reasons I cannot entirely grasp at this moment. Lyrics.

Architecture - Wroclaw a.k.a. Breslau

City Hall in one of my favourite cities. Right in the heart of the market square.
This city is a must-visit for more reasons than its architecture; today I will just name its lovely parks - great for cycling, walking, or lying on the grass. The parks there are so spacious you can get positively lost there :)

Bacio # 3

Friendship brings great happiness with little gestures.

Back in Cork

Hello again after a few days' break from posting.
I am back, alive and well but getting back to Cork was a fairly easy thing. It is hard to be late for a flight that is delayed after all and it is not much one can do up there but think of ways to kill boredom. One can sleep, read, or converse with another passenger. I was lucky to meet a friend at the airport and we sat in the same row during the flight. We talked for some time but then I tried to sleep or well, I kept my eyes closed and got in a semi-dazed state. Before I did that, I exchanged a few words with the passenger on my right hand side. The guy was from Czech Republic and asked me something about milk served on the plane. MILK MLIKO MLEKO; well I did not chant it as a mantra while in my dazed state; I just remembered now the way he put an accent in the word "mliko". Of course it was different than the accent used by the Polish in "mleko". As you can see I had very "fascinating" thoughts when on this plane ... [German MILCH is way different again]
***
Anyway, I am back in my apartment now; I went back to work on Tuesday morning (half asleep as the plane arrived at c. midnight). I survived the four long days in the office, trying to do my best but it was tough. It is difficult to get back to reality, to the usual after long holidays. I could not muster up enough energy to do things in my usual fast and efficient manner. My brain put up a lot of resistance in face of some tasks.
So I wore this t-shirt today as this week I have been a very good bad example of slackening discipline. It is good then to have an understanding boss with some sense of humour too. He agreed with what my t-shirt said (I bet what he had in mind was that my Polish workmate and I speak Polish when it comes to small talk but it is a different matter).
There will be no mercy next week anyway but I am hoping to be back on the track by Monday.
On Monday, I will be wearing a different t-shirt ;)

leaving ... soon

"Suddenly the night has grown colder..."

I am just listening to "Alexandra Leaving" performed by Leonard Cohen. Somehow this song always comes to my mind when I am about to travel even if the lyrics do not have much in common with my life. I want to apologise here for not providing any link to a youtube movie with this song. The reason is that there is no video clip with song performed by Cohen. I did not like the version I found.

To get back to my travel, all I want is to land safely at my destination. Then there will be a huge sigh of relief and I will be able to go home.

Recently I got a little nice MP3 player. At the airport I may listen to some songs to kill the time before boarding and to kill boredom when flying.

Before listening to Cohen now, I listened to Nick Cave. I then remembered the concert he gave at the Marquee some time ago. I cannot remember the exact date but the concert was very good. Here are youtube links to two of his songs:

Weeping song

People ain't no good

I listened to many more songs than those two by Cave of course and some are more stuck than others.

Now I feel strangely detached; maybe because of this journey. I am a bit stressed out about my flight and I do not want to think that I am leaving so soon. Knock me out before boarding the plane please so it might get easier. I would not like to crash. When I think about some plane crashes, I think the awareness of the inevitable is the worst. I keep telling myself that nothing bad will happen this time either. I also think it is a good time to say good night now; time to get some sleep before tomorrow. "So long, Marianne" Cohen sings (my name is not Marianne, I must add here ;))

The pic of this weeping willow was taken in Wroclaw a few days ago.

Holidays

My holidays in Poland are almost, almost over. After two weeks and something I am going to pack my suitcase again. I am going to pack some good memories too. I did not plan to do much during those holidays and things were just following the general flow. Yet, there some unexpected things that took place but it is a mystery :-)

On a cultural side though there are no mysteries. Here goes a list of some movies I watched and the two books I read. [I took plenty of pictures as well - here goes just this one - of the flowers].

Norwegian wood by Haruki Murakami
(Polish cover on the left; English one on the right. Surely this books has had various covers - not only those too. I must say I like the one on the right more but I am adding the other one to this post just for some kind of balance.)

On the book itself ... I enjoyed reading it until the very last page. The ending was rather a surprise and I was disappointed by it to be honest. I could not know that when I started reading of course :-) but it was all calculated risk: you never know where a given book is gonna take you.




Lala by Jacek Dehnel
At the beginning I found it hard to get into rhythm with this book but then I could not be separated from it until the very last page. Great read. Some kind of compensation for "Norwegian Wood".

Buena Vista Social Club by Wim Wenders

Great music. Nothing more to add.

North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock

A fair bit of entertainment in Hitchcock style. Nice and easy for holidays time.

Elizabeth by Shekhar KapurIt was a must - to see "Elizabeth". I was thinking about it for a long time but somehow I never got a chance until a few days ago. She was a strong woman and a feminist. She knew what she wanted and would go for it in spite of all men around. Very often the steps she took were against their advice and she brought England to prosperity. Smart woman.

21 grams by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu

A must-see. Captivating watch for me from the beginning until the very end. I watched it second time last week.

One Last Dance
No poster here. I found the movie dreadfully boring and lacking in any real emotion. Dance can be so full of emotions and passion but passion was missing from this film big time.

Les Amants by Louis Malle


French lovers escape from settled environment. Nice fairytale but I found it too naive. The female protagonist may have appealed to the viewers back then when the movie was screened in the late 1950's but not so much to me. It was interesting to watch anyway just to have some fun. Yes, I may be too skeptic about love these days but such things just do not happen in real life.
So people will keep going to cinemas, theatres to experience the impossible, the improbable.
For the same reasons the Greeks went to their theatres and the English crowded to see Shakespeare's plays. I realize it is a pretty simplified picture I paint but there is some truth in it, isn't there?

Back to scorching heat.

I made this short video at Garretstown beach near Kinsale. I wish I could be at the seaside now - be it Irish sea or Baltic sea. Anywhere where you can wade in chilling waters.

Waterfalls

This song has come to my mind tonight as well. I was wandering for what reason and I thought about the waterfalls I might be chasing if any. Food for thought.
***
I like the song very much anyway.

"Don’t go chasing waterfalls
please stick to the rivers
and the lakes that you’re used to
I know that you’re gonna have it
your way or nothing at all
but I think you're moving too fast"

RAIN TODAY - part two

one of my favourite songs. it so well defines my inner desires and ambitions.

RAIN TODAY - part one

Natasha Bedingfield - Feel The Rain On Your Skin Lyrics

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your innovations
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inner visions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inner visions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah

source of the lyrics

Too hot to post

Another day of scorching heat in Poland. Weather forecast says there will be thunder storms later today - I hope it is not wrong. Plans for tonight - barbeque party and lot of beer. Rain will not be much of a problem when it comes and it will make a few things easier for us here.
***
The photo is of the roses I gave to my mother this morning.

Another cycling trip this evening

Day tripper

Cieszyn - the name of the city is derived from the verb "cieszyc sie" which means "be joyful about something". A legend says that three brothers met up after a long journey and they were so happy to see each other that they decided to build a town at that location. That is only a legend; actually a town started growing around the Castle in the 8th century (if you click on the link, you will read that it was founded in the 10th century).
Park in Cieszyn.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight.

Afternoon Delight Lyrics (one of the songs from Good Will Hunting soundtrack)

Impressions

Sleeping cat in Cobh

Well, coma is not exactly a state I am in. However, I am tired enough and I have decided to suspend blogging until further notice. My brain needs to recover from the effort of taking three exams in three days (the last one was taken after a totally sleepless night). There are some other reasons for taking a break but those will not be disclosed.