2011 was good year, for the most part. it was the year we took a good look at our health and decided to change things. we ate different, we moved more. we also moved to a new country in april, starting a new adventure. we’ve seen old friends and made new ones. and we’ve tried lots of new things.

but the year ended in a more sour note, with both this never-ending crisis and sickness affecting our families in a cruel way. as for 2012, i only wish to have the strength to make this a good year, no matter what life throws at us.

i was thinking about this yesterday, while watching the pyrotechnic pitched battle taking place in front of the brandenburg tor. we were a bit far to see the actual city fireworks, but the display that surrounded us was equally dramatic and much more nerve-wracking. here’s what it looked like, straight from the boy’s phone (starts a bit before midnight):

happy new year!

“not every day is going to offer us a chance to save somebody’s life, but everyday offers us an opportunity to affect one. so get in the game. save the shoes.”

mark bezos is a volunteer new york firefighter who gave a quick ted talk, on two simple life lessons: don’t wait to be a hero and every little thing counts. it made me smile and it made me think about all the little things that count.

until the end of the month, kinodvor is playing a different movie each night on ljubljana’s castle. we gave it a try on monday with the cove and were pleasantly surprised. the sound + screening quality + popcorn are good, the backdrop of the castle in the night air is quite nice and even the plastic chairs are not that bad. so we went back yesterday and watched the road and i think we’ll go again next week. perhaps we’ll try to choose less depressing movies…

third video in a row, i know… but i can’t help it! :D ljubljana is just picture-perfect these days and in a way, this one doubles as a message to all our friends: what are you waiting for to visit us?! we have plenty of snow and hot chocolate, just come!

a snowy day in ljubljana from ana campos on Vimeo.

no trees were harmed in the making of this movie!

there’s a milk vending machine in the market – and i’ve been dying to use it :) so today, me, paulo and gui braved the snow to get some milk. we had a bit of help from a nice lady and got home with a bottle of thick fresh milk. yummy! :D

the song is 牛仔很忙 （the cowboy is very busy) by jay chou. it’s about a nice cowboy who drinks milk at bars (because beer is bad for you), soaks in bubble baths with his toys and only wears synthetic leather :)

Crossing the Karavanke tunnel from ana campos on Vimeo.

i shot this the last time we went to austria, crossing the mighty karavanke, all 7 minutes of it. the purpose? i’m not sure, but perhaps to focus me on something rather than letting my mind free to image the tons of earth above us and how far the nearest exit is. it worked. the song is “you will pull through” by barcelona – which is somewhat appropriate to the situation. i think i’m getting better at crossing mountains through tunnels. :)

ps-the border between slovenia and austria is around 3:43.