Les Feuilles Mortes

Too much everything for one day... I'm totally exhausted. That I can't even attend my French course without being disrupted and forced to go back to work (after regular work hours!) to solve insoluble problems... that's just pushing it too far!

More wet stuff

What is there to add?

Grey day, grey mood... with occasional sparks of light here and there. I'm nowhere near done with getting over that loss and I'm being painfully reminded of it ever so often. It hasn't been a good weekend in that regard...

Reflection on a rainy Saturday

Hoodies in the park

Basically just another snap - panning attempt with the P&S

To my friends celebrating today

Have a good one!

Haiku my way

his orchard
the trees that bear fruit
and those that don't


although it may not look like at a first glance, this haiku (yes, haiku - it is not about counting syllables but about conveying something while picturing something else) is at least as much about families and parent-child relationship as it is about trees

More colour

I kind of promised another colourful photo from the last week session in the park so...



Actually, the weather has been quite friendly lately... (too) warm with not too much fog (but not quite without) and few rainy days. I'm still exceedingly busy, though - almost each day brings new obligations whereas the existing ones never cease. And soon the party season will begin. Did I ever mention they annoy me no end?

Soft focus sunset

No energy for words so this will have to suffice...

Burning the underbrush

Some farmers do it... cough cough ugh!

Reflecting of a different kind

Sunlight caught in dewdrops - not the best picture quality but for a better result I should have had the macro lens.

Colour

The weather has improved this week. We still have the morning fog which usually doesn't disperse until noon but there is some sunshine and although most trees have already shed their leaves, some remaining colour can still be found. Although I'm still busy I have found just enough time for a stroll in the park during the break and here's proof that my old camera can still produce decent snaps.

Stuff

The big news here today is Slovenia qualifying for the football (soccer for the Americans) World Cup in South Africa next year by eliminating Russia. Not exactly what the doctor ordered but FIFA will have to swallow this bitter pill. They were more successful in making sure France advanced over the Republic of Ireland on account of a completely irregular goal (double hand play by Henry overlooked by the refs in the extra time). I empathise with the Irish.

On an unrelated note, the third Thursday in November is the official release of Beaujolais Nouveau. This year I received an invitation to the release party in Ljubljana. At first I thought it was some kind of mistake but then realised the invitation was dispatched among the students of French within the company. I wasn't keen on going but a colleague convinced me to join her and we attended the party together. The wine was very nice but not exceptional, the food was plenty and tasty and we circled for a couple of hours without much happening before deciding enough was enough and we left.

TWT 37

Her gardeviance was ready. Maggie gave it a once over to make sure she'd left nothing behind. She would never be returning to this kexy place which was once her home and the man she thought she loved until she realised he was nothing but an aretaloger unable to fulfil any of his promises. His drinking habits made killing him easy. The arsenic worked quickly and efficiently and it would take a couple of days before anyone discovered his body.

The coach was waiting for her. She nodded to the driver and entered, holding fast the ticket which, she believed, would give her a new life: the ticket for the inaugural cruise of the Titanic.

Time out for a haiku

passing freight train
scores of leaves lift off
then land again

Those facts...

#1. True.
I did fly in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 on a night flight from Ljubljana to Ohrid (Macedonia - then Yugoslavia) and back. The captain was a friend of my partner's and agreed to take us along (mind, this was pre- 9-11 and the security measures were much looser). It was a memorable experience.

#2. True.
I blogged about it here.

#3. True.
I played basketball for a men's team at the banking games. Our opponents, clear favourites in the match, mocked our team for having a female in it. However, I contributed to our win and, frustrated with the outcome, a couple of members of the opposing team assaulted the referee after the match which, incidentally, went to an extra time and my free throws decided it.

#4. True.
During a school excursion we visited Mostar and I, along with another girl, wandered into the old part of the town and came across a man who turned out to be a painter relatively known in the former Yugoslavia. He asked us for our names and in just a few minutes sketched our portraits from the letters of our names.

#5. False.
I am pretty much tone deaf and have never participated at a karaoke contest.

#6. True.
I was on holiday in Dalmatia and I did catch the last flight from Split to Ljubljana before the air space was closed. Later that year (1991) the war broke out in Croatia and Bosnia.

#7. True.
As long as we played in the national league (second division - but Yugoslavia was a world power in both men's and women's basketball at the time) I never missed an official match and scored at least two points in every single one of them.

#8. True.
It happened in (I think) the equivalent of 12. grade at the end of the secondary school. I got so frustrated with everything about school, one professor in particular, that I refused to attend classes. I graduated nonetheless but that was the end of my academic career before it actually started.

#9. True.
We are talking 9-pin bowling, a sport hardly known outside the central Europe. The funny thing is, the guy who went on to become world bowling champion addressed me first as he remembered me from our basketball practices in a court outside his school.

#10. True.
During a funeral something the priest said seemed so absurd to me that I burst out laughing. I had to excuse myself from the church although what I was doing in there in the first place is a mystery to me.

Kudos to Thom for guessing correctly!

10 facts about me

1. I spent a whole flight in the cockpit of a Boeing 737.

2. I was once trapped in snow for over 20 hours.

3. I played basketball for a men's team and our opponents wanted to beat up the referee because of me.

4. A renowned painter once sketched my portrait using the letters of my name.

5. I came in fourth at a karaoke contest.

6. I caught the last flight home from Split, Croatia (then Yugoslavia), before the air space was closed and the war broke out.

7. For the 5 seasons my basketball team played in the national league I never missed an official match and scored in every one of them.

8. I was all but thrown out of school for missing classes.

9. I bowled at the same tournament with the world champion.

10. I almost choked laughing at a funeral.


Of course, one of these facts is not true - which one it is I'll reveal later. My two readers are welcome to guess as many times as they wish ;)

Microfiction news flash

(my two visitors will know what this is about - basically, just a silly attempt. i can't even be bothered to attach a picture)

The delivery of presents is cancelled this year. During a trial ride Santa's sleigh crash landed on top of a cottage somewhere in the Alps.

Farewell to colour

More and more trees display their barren skeletons and only the most stubborn leaves still remain attached. All the colour is slowly disappearing from the landscape, even the sun is reluctant to show its pale face through the clouds. Greyness takes over...

Some reflecting on a Friday

I wouldn't mind being there right now...

TWT 36 (aka better late than never) in 55 words

Allastair Muggins claimed he had discovered an ancient rimestock which contained the secret of perpetual youth but when he was asked to show the script during a confabulation at the archeologists' convention one of the colleagues pudified him by proving he couldn’t even read runes and the script was merely a recipe for boar stew.

Progress and the lack thereof

It looks more or less like that when I finally get to leave work these days (view from my office)...



Not as frustrating a day as it seemed only yesterday. Identified the operational problem and, with the help of an IT guy found a temporary solution. Still, the workshop I had to attend was a complete waste of time.

Entangled

Madness at work caused by other people's negligence and incompetence, a new project in prospect meaning I have to attend a pointless workshop besides my regular work, possibly for two consecutive days... I'm already exhausted and the pressure is escalating. I need a break!!!

Letting go

Sometimes one has to do it in order to fly, and yet it can be one of the hardest things to do. One must undergo a transformation to be able to break free of the bonds and ties and soar, if only for a few fleeting moments. Leaves, wooed by the autumn wind, have mastered the art to perfection...

Pft

It's been raining here for a week now and I'm bored witless.

The castle

Above the river from Wednesday haiku pic stands a castle. Inside is a library and a museum but at this visit we didn't have enough time to see either. The river is called Kolpa (Kupa in Croatian) and in a large part forms a natural border between Slovenia and Croatia. The castle in the town of Ozalj stands on the Croatian side.

Oops, I almost forgot (aka TWT35 in 55 words)

I lived in an illusion of a nubivagant bliss while revelling in your tenellous affection until something I said made you believe I had somehow misquemed you and as a result you cast me off like some sort of maleolent scum which made me plummet into tristificial vacivity suffarcinated with a strong feeling of xenization.

(not so) silly haiku

slow river
the tree's reflection
catches its leaves

Just a memory

Winter came early this year... much of the country awoke covered in snow today... not where I live but the rain was icy and the wind biting. Winter is not the time of year I look forward to; I don't stand cold very well and I desperately miss the sunshine. It happens that we don't get to see the sun at all for a month, even more at times, and that can drive me insane. I'm looking for a sponsor to finance a trip to warm and sunny climes during our winter. Any volunteers, perchance? No? I thought so...

More scars

I wonder what a tree feels when wounds are inflicted upon it. The bark heals eventually but it can never be whole again... never return to the way it once was. The scars may look interesting, fun even but I can't but empathise with the gentle giants...

Something I stole

Have You Ever …….

Been pulled over? Several times, most at the onset of my driving career. A young thing in a Renault 4 seemed reason enough for police patrols to perform "routine checks" on me.

Dyed your hair? I let my hairdresser do it.

Pulled an all-nighter? Yep.

Fallen down in public? In what way?

Broken a bone? Not that I know of.

Had braces? I don't want to be reminded of that time.

Built something out of wood? Carved, yes. Built, not likely.

Been to Disneyland? No way.

Eaten a Krispy Kreme donut? What the heck is Krispy Kreme donut?

Screamed during a scary movie? Scary movies? No, thank you.

Been to a professional sporting event? Basketball although it was hardly considered professional at the time. Oh, wait... once the Harlem Globetrotters performed in Ljubljana I happened to be there.

Slept till noon? Used to but not in a while.

Been arrested? No.

Opened Christmas presents early? Is there a kid who didn't? Takes half the fun away, though.

Rolled down a hill? Erm, yes.

Toilet papered someone’s house? What do you take me for?

Laughed so hard you cried? Yep.

Gotten seasick? No, but then I don't spend much time on rough seas.

Shared a sucker with your dog? He shredded my knickers, does that count?

Been in an accident? A couple. No serious damage, though.

Ridden in a limo? Nope.

Had a pet fish? Actually, yes. It was about the only pet I was allowed to have.

Been ice skating? Sort of... although ice butting would probably be more accurate.

Locked your keys in the car? Once.

Ridden a horse? I was never allowed to try at the time I wanted to do it. Now I would feel sorry for the beast who would have to carry my weight so I have no desire to try.