Blue Moon

Just because...

Rain again

Pft!

Melancholy

I've been feeling melancholy and have written a terribly depressing post but deleted the whole thing so here's just another blurry photo (but I kind of like it)

Tiny tweeters

Unfazed by the rain and cold and happy to collect a few crumbs or seeds somebody may have left for them, these chirpy chaps are a cheerful lot. Camera shy, too.

It wasn't raining today. But the sun remained hidden behind mist and clouds. And I have no idea why I'm posting this nonsense.

Back to the regular schedule

aka more grey soggy dreariness

T'was the day after Christmas

And a pair of collared doves had a rendezvous in a nearby tree still wet with rain. However, the winter sun peeked shyly from behind the misty clouds before hiding again in the afternoon.
I may not need the ark just yet, it seems.

Water water everywhere...

The rain keeps pouring and some rivers and lakes have already reached or are nearing record high levels. The temperature today would be more appropriate for the end of March than the beginning of winter (15-16C aka cca 60F). The forecast is not very promising either, we may have a break from the rain during the day tomorrow but then more of the same, only with lower temperatures...
Damn, it's just not right!

Whatever it means to you...

For whatever reason you celebrate Christmas...

I wish you peace and happiness

and

Vesel Božič!

Q&A

Seems somebody (you know who you are) wishes to know what I do for a living.

Nothing particularly exciting, I'm sorry to say. My current work place is in the seventh floor of an office building in the centre of Ljubljana which belongs to a French-owned commercial bank. The bank is a Slovenian legal entity with a local brand but is fully dependent on the mother bank in Paris. My current job is in Treasury - money market and forex support, the kind of work which is highly supervised due to the operational risks involved. We face frequent audits and are obliged to report a gazillion things (most of them useless) both internally and to all kinds of external institutions and, as the end of year approaches, various disturbances become more frequent. The global crisis hasn't bypassed us either, of course, and that makes everything all the more challenging.

Madness continued

Work is just insane these days... if anything can go wrong, it will. Besides, social obligations abound at this time of year and it all makes my head spin.

The pelting rain has washed away almost all the snow and the temperatures have risen for about 25°C in just a couple of days, from -15 in Ljubljana (or -14 although in some places it was as low as -20 which is about 0F) Sunday night to +11 (which, according to my converter, is 52F) today. The rivers are rising and flood warnings have been issued for most of the country for the next couple of days. We are on relatively safe grounds, though, so no real concerns here for the time being. We obviously won't have a white Christmas but it will certainly be a very wet one. And to start off the festive season, a rainbow graced the otherwise sullen sky this morning.

And to answer the question from the comments: yes, I was engaged in quite a few sports although I am now retired from all of them. I take bowling (the world-wide known 10-pin variety) more as a social event than a real sport although, if taken seriously, would be quite demanding, I imagine. I used to compete in the 9-pin variety which, apart from the central Europe and a few other parts of the world (like Australia due to strong immigration from these areas), is rather unknown, and is unlikely to ever become an Olympic sport. But the 9-pin section is a part the bowling federation and international competitions, even world championships, are held regularly.

Madness

Busy with work, busy with after-work current affairs, busy with bowling in the evening... no wonder the world appears rather blurry at the moment...
And it's been raining buckets since last night while the temperature has been lingering just above freezing. Appalling!

MFM just for the fun of it

"Honey, I'm back! Open up, will you please!"
Damn, why can't I enter my own house through a chimney like I do all the other homes on Earth!

Winter idyll

as long as it lasts...

Reflection - sort of

Second shipment

And cold, too... -6°C (about 20F) all day.
But in spite of this we may end up having a green Christmas... we seem to be in for another bitterly cold day but then thaw and much rain is forecast until the end of next week...

Flash 55

(aka putting this and this in some sort of a context)

"So, what did you think about our visit to Earth?"
"Interesting. But the view from space promised more with all the water covering the surface."
"Salt... bleugh. When we found that mountain village I was already despairing. But they had the best water I have ever tasted."
"Yep. And the staff wasn't half bad either."

Warning - a very poor photo!

They are true little beggars, are the avian park residents. How they remember who had brought them seeds is beyond me but every time I walk through there a flock of different birds (mostly great tits but also chaffinches and blackbirds and an occasional robin, and of course sparrows from a safe distance) follows in my footsteps, fluttering from branch to branch, making themselves as visible as possible while still keeping out of reach. (note to self: stock with seeds the next time you go there)

But the instant one takes out a camera, they hide from the view or keep moving so as to make a shot nearly impossible. And it doesn't matter whether you bribe them or not.

TWT 40

The waitress adimpleated the alien visitors' mugs with water and after finding out they were pamphagous offered them some stew with lubency.

Haiku my way

all day snow flurries
i start the second tablet
of dark chocolate

'Tis the season

Grey sky... all day sub-freezing temperatures... bitter wind... a thin layer of snow freezing to the ground... semi-dusk turning to darkness without a noticeable transition...

Illuminated streets... stands selling cheap tat alternating with stands selling mulled wine and mead... people holding plastic glasses containing steaming alcohol beverages to keep them warm...

A few buddies from work and I joining the crowd, gathering under a propane heater but still shuffling to keep the feet as warm as possible, holding tight to our still hot but cooling fast drinks, chatting about stuff, savouring the time...

Oh well...

It's winter after all...



which still doesn't mean I like it...

Reflection on a (mostly) grey Sunday

Early morning - again

This is just about all I get to photograph these days...

TWT 39

She had an aeipathy for ancient scripts. She was ruthless in her pursuit of the things that caught her fancy and would go to any length to get what she wanted. When she heard a very old rimestock was on auction she just knew she had to get hold of it. She felt this could be the patration of her life-long quest.

She was still clutching a strange looking parchment when she was discovered in her backyard, a yelve protruding from her chest. Beside her lay another body shot through his head, a pistol still in the hand. On the handle of the yelve was written in capital letters with a red marker: “NOBODY BREAKS MY HEART TWICE”

Senryu

Yes, I know, most would call it haiku but in fact the following is rather a senryu as it is human-orientated (in truth, it's a rewrite of an oldie adjusted to 5-7-5 form of which I am usually not too fond)

overcrowded bus
the last seat is occupied
by a shopping bag

Inspirationless

There seems no end to the busy and stressful days at work. So, just because I have nothing else to blog about, here's a snap of some city lights (and a poor one at that) taken this morning from my office...

Reflecting on a grey Sunday

We've reached the time of the year when one grey day, hardly ever more than half-dusk, merges into another, just as grey and dreary, with a lot of darkness in between. Definitely not inspiring times... However, a couple of windows of a school gym provided some sort of motive...

Knackered!

Just came home from work - late again, as has been the custom all this week - with a monster of a headache. Can't think, can't even eat and am heading straight to bed.

PS - It's pissing outside like obsessed and there are some snowflakes mixed in with the rain. How lovely - NOT!

TWT 38

“You said water, sir?” The waitress asked with an incredulous look which somewhat betrayed her courteous smile revealing a rather nasty brochity. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t bring you that.”

The man slowly turned on his heels and left the bar, followed by a weird-looking hairy creature.

“Come, X, let’s get away from this ficulnean place and find a world where they will know how to take care of Denebolan aquabibs like us. How does Earth sound to you?”

Exceptionally - Random Dozen in this blog

The questions somehow appealed to me so here goes


1. Which Wizard of Oz character are you most like?
For different reasons I must say The Scarecrow

2. When you're deciding what you're going to wear each morning, which item do you select first? Why?
What's the big deal? The underwear, of course.

3. What kind of animal do you think the world could live without?
The world? Well, humans are biologically animals, so the answer is strikingly obvious.

4. How many Christmas trees are in your home?
I do not approve of arboricide and dislike imitations. Besides, my flat has very limited space.

5. Would you prefer to be emotionless if it mean you didn't have to feel a heartbreak?
Given my current situation I am almost tempted to say yes. But hell, no! What would life be like without emotions?

6. Do you ever experience holiday let-down or depression?
Holidays annoy me but that has nothing to do with depression. However, winter in itself makes me blue with its long cold nights and the lack of light. I'm a SAD sufferer for sure.

7. Do you like Michael Jackson's music?
Hardly. And I could never stand the man himself.

8. Why is it that we never judge people who have their teeth fixed for cosmetic reasons, but every other cosmetic procedure has a stigma?
Each to their own. Who am I to judge?

9. Enjoy horseback riding?
Never tried, don't really wish to.

10. Shoes--practical or stylish?
Comfortable.

11. What was the name of your first pet? Feel free to post a pic.
The things I tried to pass as pets never got a chance to be named. Why parents were not fond of the earthworms and tadpoles and crickets I would bring home is beyond me.
I was never allowed to have my own pet but the first animal that sort of adopted me was a magnificent tomcat named Miki

12. What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done?
I shop on a whim and I haven't been inspired yet so...

How Zombies Are Made

take a heart
a big one
the softer the better
wrap it in kindness
sprinkle with attention
season with a handful of humour
and some gentle irony
pamper it with talking
about everything and nothing
until it becomes tender
almost to the point of melting
then
pierce it with concerns
rub in false hopes
add rejection
let it stand in disregard
until it hardens
into a dark lump
of unrecognisable matter