Category: just life

Categories
just life

29 things i did in my twenties

1. got out of my country for the first time!
2. lived in the netherlands, discovered vla, stroopwaffles, hagelslag, fries with mayo and an underground bunker that controls the gas of the nation
3. wrote my master thesis on a very geek subject (the adaptation of a nitrogen usage simulation case to a network optimization tool)
4. bathed my first laptop in coffee (but it was ok)
5. fell in love with a boy on the other side of the atlantic, discovered i wanted to explore the whole world with him
6. moved to the largest city in china
7. learnt mandarin, did the HSK
8. celebrated chinese new year
9. walked the great wall, rode the maglev, experienced ramadan, lived through a major earthquake
10. went to malacca and thought about the portuguese crossing the sea to dock there, on the other side of the world
11. moved to slovenia
12. fell in love with the mountains, the lakes, the food, the greenness, the traditions
13. climbed some high mountains, saw the sea organ
14. learnt how to swing dance, and how to sew with a machine
15. saw kings of convenience, bon iver, florence + the machine, and bjork live
16. tried fondue, frog legs, stinky tofu, snails, raclette, kanelbullar, fried cheese, ice-cream sandwich, burek, mooncakes, korean barbeque, cevapcici, krofi, gibanica, vadelma munkki…
17. decided we wanted something a bit more urban… moved to germany
18. went back to school to learn german
19. did a couple of awesome roadtrips
20. went to big places like paris, venice, copenhagen, istanbul, tallin, helsinki, hong kong, macau, suzhou, singapore and little places like skofja loka, redang, montemor-o-velho and s. leonardo da galafura
21. started shooting with film cameras, learnt how to develop film, discovered i really liked a camera named holga, collected a few more for good measure
22. got a spinal disc herniation, but managed to recover ok from it
23. went snowboarding, horse racing, snorkeling and geocaching
24. saw the family expand and then contract
25. did some gigs on a radio station, designed some websites, worked for a photography shop and a swedish brand of luxury accessories – now spend my days working on making postcrossing awesome
26. saw the postcrossing stamp come to life
27. decided that health was the best investment one can make, read a lot, gave up grains and dairy (about 85% of the time)
28. fell in love with bikes, stationery and snail mail in general
29. found out that it doesn’t matter where we are – real friends find a way to stick around despite the distance.

in the end, i think i’m doing quite ok. here’s to another 10 years of adventures! let the 30s begin! :)

(this list was inspired by stacey’s list)

Categories
in germany just life

meet hans


this is hans. he lives in our street, and was the first resident we’ve met when we moved here. in the beginning, he scared us quite often… we’d be walking down the street and suddenly notice him right above us, looking out of his window!

we used to think he was creepy, but now we’re used to having him there and always greet him on our way home :) he’s like the neighbourhood watchman!

Categories
just life

the boy who ran

last year, the boy decided he would pick up running again. he set a goal of 500km for the year, which he completed, and also ran the 30km path of remembrance (above) around ljubljana for his birthday. this year he decided to up the ante and run a total of 1000km plus real races, like he used to do in high school. he ran the 10km race on the brand new brandenburg airport (now late on its opening), and two weeks after that, he ran the half-marathon from the olympia stadium, finishing it in 42th place (out of 600 participants).

he’s still quite good at it, and i’m bursting at the seams with pride. :)

Categories
just life

ich will mehr von alles


last week i finished b1, the third level of my german course – this week we started b2, and i’m officially an intermediate student. almost suddenly, i’ve noticed that i can understand a lot of what people around me are saying – even if i’m not able to answer back as fluently as i’d like to. i’ve reached the point where german is no longer background noise, making it impossible to tune out.

i persevere because there’s a sort of magic in languages, like a key to the country’s culture and modus operandi. i’m also fascinated by the unexpected and delightful words – like glühbirne (glowing pear = light-bulb) or bauchredner (belly speaker = ventriloquist).

sometimes i wonder – will this be the last language i learn? i find it a sad prospect… but at the same time, language learning is so time consuming, and i don’t see the point of doing it if you’re going to do a half-assed job. what’s the purpose of speaking just a little bit of anything? either you do, or you don’t. still, at each new language, the previous ones get dimmed, put aside… not forgotten but just lulled into a silent corner, their words mingling with the new ones. which reminds me, i really should dust off my mandarin books someday…

Categories
just life

quiet ode

I’ve searched the holy books and I’ve dogeared every page
I’ve stolen secrets from the sorcerer’s own sage
Although a connoisseur of fine legerdemain
I’ve just one word for you…

…extraordinary.*

after raising me and my brother, my nanny had grandkids: two boys, who were not exactly easy children – they were rowdy, loud, often getting themselves into trouble. i remember once, one of them broke his head while horsing around, and my mom took him to the hospital. when he returned home, fresh stitches on his forehead, his first concern was to show his wrist to everyone in the street. on it, my mother had drawn a big watch.

after that, i’ve seen her pull this trick on unsuspecting children a few times. if they’re crying or fidgety, she’ll quietly ask them the time, and whether they have a watch? when they say no, she pulls a pen from her pocket and proceeds to draw them one on their wrist. it’s always a big success, and the child will go off, big-eyed and proud, pain already forgotten.

she is extraordinary.

* song by jill tracy.