..aaand last day of youth :P
Just kidding. But anyway, it is the last day of '21' - now on to the big two-two. Exciting stuff.
I just realized something. Today I spilled coffee on me THREE times in 5 minutes (and it was hot and annoying). I also almost got run over by a. a car, b. a motorbike, and c. another car (in that order). I thought that's pretty odd, as a continuous streak of bad luck... and then I calmly remembered the idea that right before a birthday people usually enter a 'black hole' so to speak:)So I'm currently in my little hole. Don't worry, bad luck is not contagious! And I certainly hope it all goes away on April 3! (fingers crossed!)
Alright, I'm going to sleep now and wake up early in the morning to do all sorts of work, as usual...
Oh, and try avoiding being the 'fool' of the day. I did feel quite foolish after the 3rd time that wretched coffee spilled on me, and it wasn't even April 1 yet .. I've already had my fair share of fooling around already...
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Bubbly!
Apparently that's the word of the day! I've been going around asking people to say one word about me, the first thing that comes to their mind. Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm bubbly, according to quite a few people... :)
Monday, 30 March 2009
I am your friend :)
Oh, and if any of you ever feel down and alone (hopefully you don't), then I'm letting you know that I'm your friend and you'll never be alone again! :D So let's go dancing! Lots of London Love to All! :)
Finding the Key
Gotta love life's sense of humour... As I was walking home today, pondering over various projects that need to be done by the end of the week, I stopped at a bus stop, just cause I felt like it. I looked around me, on the ground, and I saw a tiny metal key. Sigh... This entire time I've been thinking about all my projects, but hey, maybe I just need to stop for a moment and I'll find the key to them all! Hehe, we'll see if that works. Or... I don't know, maybe the thought I was having at that exact moment was actually the key. Too bad I don't remember what it was! :S Yeah, I love taking seemingly random events as quite symbolic and non-coincidential.
... Then again, for someone who tends to find quite a bit of stuff (coins, bills, badges...) on the ground in general, maybe I shouldn't even consider the key incident as significant :) Ah, well. But on the note of finding things, I did find 2 pounds in the laundry machine yesterday-the person before me hadn't noticed it hehe; so I can certainly say that was the most exciting laundry duty ever :)
I'm off to actually do work on projects now instead of wasting time thinking about key findings.
... Then again, for someone who tends to find quite a bit of stuff (coins, bills, badges...) on the ground in general, maybe I shouldn't even consider the key incident as significant :) Ah, well. But on the note of finding things, I did find 2 pounds in the laundry machine yesterday-the person before me hadn't noticed it hehe; so I can certainly say that was the most exciting laundry duty ever :)
I'm off to actually do work on projects now instead of wasting time thinking about key findings.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Do the walk of life!
In the light of recent events/thoughts, I remembered this song... Makes me wanna do the walk of life! Hehe :)
The Hours
Several minutes ago, we lost an hour. The clock here skipped 1a.m. and now I feel like I was robbed of precious sleep :( Sigh...
Symbolic, isn't it: The Earth won an Hour, now we all lose an hour. It's only fair, right?
Well, iTunes decided to play this totally awesome tune upon the turn of the missed hour:
Symbolic, isn't it: The Earth won an Hour, now we all lose an hour. It's only fair, right?
Well, iTunes decided to play this totally awesome tune upon the turn of the missed hour:
Saturday, 28 March 2009
What a Turn Off...
8:15 p.m. I walk out of Westminster station. Rumour has it the London Eye will 'close' at 8:30 p.m. for Earth Hour. It's cold and those fifteen minutes seem to last forever. Big Ben shines proudly.
The London Eye and the County Hall also glimmer in an array of colors. A party boat floats by.
8:30 p.m. Big Ben strikes once, then is muffled and dissolves into the darkness. Lights off.
The London Eye still shines, shines on...
8:45 p.m. The Eye finally 'shuts', only to me it didn't seem like a proper switch off... By then I had already started walking towards Trafalgar and took a shot of the Eye from a different angle.
8:50 p.m. I reach Trafalgar. General Nelson peers from the top of a dark, dark column. I hope he can still see the sea...
9:00 p.m. After my disappointment at the partial switch off at the London Eye, there was only one other landmark whose turn off would have made up for that. And it did. The one place, so iconic with its flashy lights and moving signs... now looked dull and dark. It was the first time I had seen Piccadilly that dark and empty. One would almost think that the Piccadilly lights attract people like moths :) No lights, no crowds.
The following half hour of Earth Hour I spent walking around a bit more, had dinner, and went back home at 10:30p.m. All lights are back on, and someone's having a really loud party - blasting 'Thriller' and singing along! Makes me wanna dance again! Woohoo!
The London Eye and the County Hall also glimmer in an array of colors. A party boat floats by.
8:30 p.m. Big Ben strikes once, then is muffled and dissolves into the darkness. Lights off.
The London Eye still shines, shines on...
8:45 p.m. The Eye finally 'shuts', only to me it didn't seem like a proper switch off... By then I had already started walking towards Trafalgar and took a shot of the Eye from a different angle.
8:50 p.m. I reach Trafalgar. General Nelson peers from the top of a dark, dark column. I hope he can still see the sea...
9:00 p.m. After my disappointment at the partial switch off at the London Eye, there was only one other landmark whose turn off would have made up for that. And it did. The one place, so iconic with its flashy lights and moving signs... now looked dull and dark. It was the first time I had seen Piccadilly that dark and empty. One would almost think that the Piccadilly lights attract people like moths :) No lights, no crowds.
The following half hour of Earth Hour I spent walking around a bit more, had dinner, and went back home at 10:30p.m. All lights are back on, and someone's having a really loud party - blasting 'Thriller' and singing along! Makes me wanna dance again! Woohoo!
Global Events
1. The G20 Summit which will be held on April 2 in London has sparked off a shockwave of protests around the world. Thousands of activists are marching in Central London as I type, under a cause by the name of "Put People First". True, their website does look more like a pop music or artsy page, but their case is quite serious. The main idea behind the protest is to remind the G20 leaders to not forget the needs of the 'common people' when discussing issues like the global financial crisis, climate change, and the future of the world as we know it. This entire week, up till April 2, is expected to be a very roudy, red-alert time for London; police and authorities fear violence will inevitably rise. Still, I think I'll pass by Hyde Park in the afternoon to see the end of the demonstration; I haven't heard of any outbursts of violence yet. And of course, after a long day of protesting, everyone will go to the Official Put People First Pub Afterparty! Food, drinks, and a special observation of ...
2. Earth Hour! Tonight, 8:30-9:30pm, everywhere... No Lights Allowed! I'll be in central to see London in the dark. Join in, switch off your lights!
3. G20-related protests are also on in Germany, Austria, France, Spain ...... World, hold on!
2. Earth Hour! Tonight, 8:30-9:30pm, everywhere... No Lights Allowed! I'll be in central to see London in the dark. Join in, switch off your lights!
3. G20-related protests are also on in Germany, Austria, France, Spain ...... World, hold on!
Friday, 27 March 2009
Another long day...
Fridays are notable for their total randomness - most of my fun adventures happen on Fridays... Well, this Friday began early in the morning after 3 puny hours of sleep, only the interesting stuff didn't begin till after my 3-hour MidEast class.
My task of the day was to submit yet another internship application, for the Ogilvy Summer School (which sounds amazing!). Deadline? Today of course. What does Marty do? Gambles with time :) I had everything printed and ready at around 3:30pm after a bit of a hectic time, naturally. My grand plan was to hand-deliver the application to their office in shiny Canary Wharf. I love Canary Wharf. It feels like NYC! :D (And I love NYC!)
... After dropping off the application, I decided to walk around the area - I don't get to go to the financial centre of London very often. Sadly, the Wharf is smallish, and pretty soon I was walking towards some dodgy looking east London areas. I was the only girl out on the street; everyone else was either male or, erm, driving a car. No pedestrians. And everyone turned around and stared at me as I walked by. A sensible individual would have probably taken the bus, yet I couldn't even do that as I had no credit on my Oyster card and no money in my pocket. So I kept walking.
Eventually I saw a street sign - Commercial Street. Hmm, that sounded awfully familiar. Oh yeah, I was in Whitechapel. Commercial Street? A famous character by the name of Jack ripped quite a bit in that area. Great. That explained the dodginess of the place. At least it was still sunny. I saw the great Gherkinesque silhouette of the famous Swiss Bank building on the horizon! Aha! I knew the Gherkin marked the end of the creepy Whitechapel area...
I walked down the entire Commercial Street, it was interesting to see that different side of London. And then I entered the City of London - the Gherkin, the Lloyds building, and a whole lot of other impressive buildings... and people on the streets! Whew, the scary-ish part was over. (As a side note, I believe today I was especially cautious and suspicious of everyone because of a really disturbing film I saw yesterday which will likely give me nightmares for the next few weeks...)
The shiny curves of the Swiss Bank building made my lips curve into a smile :) Today was actually the first time I'd seen it from up close. I thought it would be awesome to get a magazine and go into the cafe inside the building, read a bit, and sip cappuccino at the famous site. I was on the lookout for a magazine stand in the area, but I didn't find one... instead, I stumbled upon a Revolution bar. The security guard there invited me to go in (hehe, even though I didn't have my ID on me). I decided to have a drink since I was there anyway - it would count almost as a realization of my 'coffee at the Gherkin plan'... only it would be 'cocktail at the Rev bar by the Gherkin'. Worked for me.
The place was packed! (it was barely 6pm by the way) And everyone seemed to know each other... I was chillin' alone, and eventually talked to a couple of people. When I finally asked how come everyone knew each other - was that a regular hang out spot for all employees of the area? ... the guy replied, 'It's someone's birthday'
Whoops. I had crashed their party..and had managed to skip the guest list guy somehow. On that note, I gracefully showed myself out.
My walk continued through the City of Londontown. Saw some more landmarks, including the monument commemorating the Great Fire of London which started spreading from a bakery on Pudding Lane... cute but devastating. At that point, at 7:00pm, I was tired and hopped on the tube back home (I finally had the chance to top up my Oyster using my Lloyds card).
On the tube I sat next to this gentleman from South Africa with whom we started chatting about various topics. He said he'd heard good things about the Bulgarian seaside. I said I didn't like it anymore because of all the hotels and construction... changed the topic, and eventually came back to the Bulgarian theme - he said he's seen pictures of our seaside. His wife, apparently, is part of the development and planning team for a hotel on the Black Sea Coast. Whoops №2 of the evening... It's a freakin' small world! I don't know why he didn't mention that detail about his wife before I offended 'her kind' haha. Oh well :)
We both got off at Earl's Court and walked our separate ways.
It's a small world.
So that was my Friday, complete with action, suspense, comedy and irony...
My task of the day was to submit yet another internship application, for the Ogilvy Summer School (which sounds amazing!). Deadline? Today of course. What does Marty do? Gambles with time :) I had everything printed and ready at around 3:30pm after a bit of a hectic time, naturally. My grand plan was to hand-deliver the application to their office in shiny Canary Wharf. I love Canary Wharf. It feels like NYC! :D (And I love NYC!)
... After dropping off the application, I decided to walk around the area - I don't get to go to the financial centre of London very often. Sadly, the Wharf is smallish, and pretty soon I was walking towards some dodgy looking east London areas. I was the only girl out on the street; everyone else was either male or, erm, driving a car. No pedestrians. And everyone turned around and stared at me as I walked by. A sensible individual would have probably taken the bus, yet I couldn't even do that as I had no credit on my Oyster card and no money in my pocket. So I kept walking.
Eventually I saw a street sign - Commercial Street. Hmm, that sounded awfully familiar. Oh yeah, I was in Whitechapel. Commercial Street? A famous character by the name of Jack ripped quite a bit in that area. Great. That explained the dodginess of the place. At least it was still sunny. I saw the great Gherkinesque silhouette of the famous Swiss Bank building on the horizon! Aha! I knew the Gherkin marked the end of the creepy Whitechapel area...
I walked down the entire Commercial Street, it was interesting to see that different side of London. And then I entered the City of London - the Gherkin, the Lloyds building, and a whole lot of other impressive buildings... and people on the streets! Whew, the scary-ish part was over. (As a side note, I believe today I was especially cautious and suspicious of everyone because of a really disturbing film I saw yesterday which will likely give me nightmares for the next few weeks...)
The shiny curves of the Swiss Bank building made my lips curve into a smile :) Today was actually the first time I'd seen it from up close. I thought it would be awesome to get a magazine and go into the cafe inside the building, read a bit, and sip cappuccino at the famous site. I was on the lookout for a magazine stand in the area, but I didn't find one... instead, I stumbled upon a Revolution bar. The security guard there invited me to go in (hehe, even though I didn't have my ID on me). I decided to have a drink since I was there anyway - it would count almost as a realization of my 'coffee at the Gherkin plan'... only it would be 'cocktail at the Rev bar by the Gherkin'. Worked for me.
The place was packed! (it was barely 6pm by the way) And everyone seemed to know each other... I was chillin' alone, and eventually talked to a couple of people. When I finally asked how come everyone knew each other - was that a regular hang out spot for all employees of the area? ... the guy replied, 'It's someone's birthday'
Whoops. I had crashed their party..and had managed to skip the guest list guy somehow. On that note, I gracefully showed myself out.
My walk continued through the City of Londontown. Saw some more landmarks, including the monument commemorating the Great Fire of London which started spreading from a bakery on Pudding Lane... cute but devastating. At that point, at 7:00pm, I was tired and hopped on the tube back home (I finally had the chance to top up my Oyster using my Lloyds card).
On the tube I sat next to this gentleman from South Africa with whom we started chatting about various topics. He said he'd heard good things about the Bulgarian seaside. I said I didn't like it anymore because of all the hotels and construction... changed the topic, and eventually came back to the Bulgarian theme - he said he's seen pictures of our seaside. His wife, apparently, is part of the development and planning team for a hotel on the Black Sea Coast. Whoops №2 of the evening... It's a freakin' small world! I don't know why he didn't mention that detail about his wife before I offended 'her kind' haha. Oh well :)
We both got off at Earl's Court and walked our separate ways.
It's a small world.
So that was my Friday, complete with action, suspense, comedy and irony...
Break Even (among others)
This song has been looping on the radio way too many times, so it's stuck in my head now... Therefore, I need to post it on here :)
The Script are pretty hot here now... (hence they keep coming up on the radio)
And here's their other song, which is technically their famous breakthrough act...
Okay, it's not my fault that the following song also just came up on the radio... Lily Allen is everywhere! Her songs grow on you, and before you know it, you feel like singing along! (except you can't quite do that when your roommates are sleeping and technically all of London is sleeping, and you're one of the few people who are unable to fall asleep because of a nap you took earlier in the evening... oh well.) At least I'm having a good time! :D Here's Lily anyway :)
The Script are pretty hot here now... (hence they keep coming up on the radio)
And here's their other song, which is technically their famous breakthrough act...
Okay, it's not my fault that the following song also just came up on the radio... Lily Allen is everywhere! Her songs grow on you, and before you know it, you feel like singing along! (except you can't quite do that when your roommates are sleeping and technically all of London is sleeping, and you're one of the few people who are unable to fall asleep because of a nap you took earlier in the evening... oh well.) At least I'm having a good time! :D Here's Lily anyway :)
Прауд ту би ъ уомън? :)
Ето що е то 'жена' според поредното изследване (ето тук се подвизава оригиналната статия):
"Една четвърт от жените предпочитат да спечелят реалити шоуто "Следващият супермодел на Америка", отколкото Нобелова награда, показва проучване, проведено по поръчка на американската телевизия "Оксиджен".
И макар 75% от жените в изследването да твърдят, че биха си обръснали главата, за да спасят живота на непознат, всяка четвърта заявява, че би предпочела най-добрата й приятелка да е дебела цял живот, ако това означава, че тя самата ще е слаба, пише Ройтерс.
Що се отнася до вековната дилема дали да се омъжат за богат или за красавец, половината от жените на възраст между 18 и 24 години отсичат, че биха взели грозен мъж, но мултимилионер.
Изследването обаче показало още, че 88% от дамите между 18 и 34 години биха се отказали от мобилния си телефон, бижу или грим, за да запазят приятелство.
"Това проучване представлява интересна дисекция на днешната жена и как тя свързва собствения си образ с ценните за нея неща в живота," казва психотерапевтът д-р Джен Берман.
Както показват резултатите, днешната жена е сложна смесица от алтруизъм и материализъм, суета и несигурност, лоялност и егоцентризъм."
"Една четвърт от жените предпочитат да спечелят реалити шоуто "Следващият супермодел на Америка", отколкото Нобелова награда, показва проучване, проведено по поръчка на американската телевизия "Оксиджен".
И макар 75% от жените в изследването да твърдят, че биха си обръснали главата, за да спасят живота на непознат, всяка четвърта заявява, че би предпочела най-добрата й приятелка да е дебела цял живот, ако това означава, че тя самата ще е слаба, пише Ройтерс.
Що се отнася до вековната дилема дали да се омъжат за богат или за красавец, половината от жените на възраст между 18 и 24 години отсичат, че биха взели грозен мъж, но мултимилионер.
Изследването обаче показало още, че 88% от дамите между 18 и 34 години биха се отказали от мобилния си телефон, бижу или грим, за да запазят приятелство.
"Това проучване представлява интересна дисекция на днешната жена и как тя свързва собствения си образ с ценните за нея неща в живота," казва психотерапевтът д-р Джен Берман.
Както показват резултатите, днешната жена е сложна смесица от алтруизъм и материализъм, суета и несигурност, лоялност и егоцентризъм."
Thursday, 26 March 2009
F*** My Life
A rather new craze which has sent the world ablaze - everyone seems to love it! What better way for utter entertainment than LOL-ing and ROFL-ing at other people's misery? Hey, at least it shows you're not the only one whose life seems uber messed up at times :) Have a laugh about it. And if you think you're worthy of a spot on FML, why not submit your own FML experience? We've all had plenty of those... After all, it's always better to share your crazy story and laugh with the entire world than to sit alone and sulk in depression because your life's just effed up :)
**
And that song might somewhat go with the theme... (plus I'm still mildly obsessed with it):
***
And a second addition to this post... Naughty Britney's pun-powered song, 'If You Seek Amy'... ahem, to quote the lyrics "all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy" (say it out loud and gasp:) The song's title was changed to 'If You See Amy' to avoid the not-so-obscure obscenity...
Right.
**
And that song might somewhat go with the theme... (plus I'm still mildly obsessed with it):
***
And a second addition to this post... Naughty Britney's pun-powered song, 'If You Seek Amy'... ahem, to quote the lyrics "all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy" (say it out loud and gasp:) The song's title was changed to 'If You See Amy' to avoid the not-so-obscure obscenity...
Right.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Vielen Dank fuer die Blumen...
Apparently there is a recurring theme of nostalgia/childhood memories and cartoons in the past few blog entries. On board that same train of thought, here's Tom & Jerry's intro in German... fun fact: 'Vielen Dank fuer die Blumen' was the first German phrase I ever learned :) Thank you, Tom & Jerry, Hannah & Barbara, old satellite dish on the roof, etc. etc. etc.
Захаросана носталгия
В едно кафе днес видях захаросани прасковки. От доста време насам не бях забелязвала този изтънчен деликатес, камо ли пък по английските земи. Изпаднах в нещо като умиление и си взех една розова прасковка...
Спомням си как преди доста години, като бях на 7-8, с баба всеки ден минавахме през една пекарна на ул. Шишман, където безспорно правиха най-прекрасните захаросани праскови в реален размер, тоест точно с размера на плода :) Умирах си от удоволствие, докато захарта хрускаше и се топеше в устата ми... а пък пълнежа на прасковката ме изпълваше с възторг...
От тази пекарна, с чиято собственичка си бяхме едва ли не рода, купувах и кравайчета от време на време, като им свършваха прасковките. :)
Ех, хубави бяха времената на скаличките, филиите с лютеница и сирене, варената царевица по улицата (баба винаги ми купуваше варена царевица от Графа и се наслаждаваше на няколкото минути тишина, докато аз оглозгвах кочана до дупка - оттогава асоциирам царевицата с мълчание), дъвки 'Турбо', течен шоколад в тубичка 'Мечо' (или май Мечо е пастата за зъби?) и други...
А сега какво, пица на парче и дюнер? Не е същото, драги, просто не е същото...
И така... това беше писание на обедно-хранителна тематика, но пък и на разни носталгични спомени от детството :)
Хайде сега напред към светлото бъдеще!
Спомням си как преди доста години, като бях на 7-8, с баба всеки ден минавахме през една пекарна на ул. Шишман, където безспорно правиха най-прекрасните захаросани праскови в реален размер, тоест точно с размера на плода :) Умирах си от удоволствие, докато захарта хрускаше и се топеше в устата ми... а пък пълнежа на прасковката ме изпълваше с възторг...
От тази пекарна, с чиято собственичка си бяхме едва ли не рода, купувах и кравайчета от време на време, като им свършваха прасковките. :)
Ех, хубави бяха времената на скаличките, филиите с лютеница и сирене, варената царевица по улицата (баба винаги ми купуваше варена царевица от Графа и се наслаждаваше на няколкото минути тишина, докато аз оглозгвах кочана до дупка - оттогава асоциирам царевицата с мълчание), дъвки 'Турбо', течен шоколад в тубичка 'Мечо' (или май Мечо е пастата за зъби?) и други...
А сега какво, пица на парче и дюнер? Не е същото, драги, просто не е същото...
И така... това беше писание на обедно-хранителна тематика, но пък и на разни носталгични спомени от детството :)
Хайде сега напред към светлото бъдеще!
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Design, Music, and Turtles
It's amazing how much one can learn in just one day... I'm not saying that I've learned something groundbreakingly profound today, but I've certainly expanded my knowledge of random trivia and graphic designers, for one.
Let me begin by sharing some of the knowledge we acquired today in Advanced Graphics...
1. A name which anyone with an interest in graphic design, and particularly in film poster/title design, should know is that of Saul Bass. Genius. His prolific influence in that field is amazing. What we see in film title sequences today would not have been possible had Bass not broken out of the box of traditional film design... Here are some examples.
Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Inspired by Bass: Catch Me if You Can
Inspired by Bass: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Classic by Bass: PSYCHO (1960)
Watching the title sequence just now made me realize something! Listen to the music from 00:30 onwards... remind you of something? Yep, you guessed it! Busta Rhymes, caught in the act of plagiarism! :) I may be the last person on Earth to realize that, but at least give me some credit on figuring that one out on my own :)Here's 'Gimma Some More', for comparison. (not the official video though)
That note was technically an incidental addition to the list of today's random trivia. Now, to continue with a couple of more graphic design bits.
2. Peter Saville designed album covers for Joy Division. The band changed its name to New Order when the vocalist/guitarist passed away. (The music video I had posted a couple of days back, 'Blue Monday', was by New Order). Back to Saville: he designed the cover of the album 'Power, Corruption, and Lies' (1983) using a 19th century floral painting as the background, and hardly any text... later on he had to add the band name and album title... But note the little sequence of squares in the top right-hand corner of the CD. This is actually an encrypted message written in a special color-code language that Saville developed specifically for this project. The secret encoding reads 'FACT 75'.
A classmate of mine shared that piece of info in his presentation today, but I found another source of cool cryptic CD cover info.
3. Deborah Sussman - one designer I had to present on - is amazing!! If you like innovative spatial design, color explosions, and truly inspirational works of design and architecture, take a look at her website (at the moment, you can only download their info leaflet, but it's totally worth checkin it out).
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb23OuF9E56cVIZ0sYXRW4rO5iksCaqewNWIJFAybAQ25lh8PwILb8aHPL1Ro9aD4J11ONodTyr-YadHdsYFGlJMFeM1OEogQAxH2IU14Z26gin2ymLTbe9N8zeIF-GrhAvJr-yJn-zycO/s1600-h/Fullscreen+capture+24032009+010436.bmp.jpg">
And I think that's it for now... Last but not least, on the note of old cartoons again. This time it's the Ninja Turtles wohoo! Did you know that in Germany, the classic cartoon is not called 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' but rather 'Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles'. I was looking at some old cartoon intro videos and noticed that... at first it shattered my world and all my beliefs that those are the NINJA turtles. I thought I had been delusional all my life! But no, thankfully, I wasn't completely delusional.
And apparently it wasn't just the Germans who did that name change. Here's a little something from Wiki re: NINJA vs HERO Turtles ->
"Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Poland, Austria and Germany, the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT, for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have excessively violent connotations for a children's program. (In Ireland, however, the first season aired as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" before changing to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles".)[14] Consequently, everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released in these nations (comic books, video games, toys, etc.) The lyrics were also changed, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to the "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens."
The policies also had other effects, such as removing use of Michaelangelo's nunchaku (which were at the time banned from appearing in even 18-rated movies) and generally toning down the usage of all the turtles' weapons. After many seasons of never using his nunchaku, they eventually disappeared entirely, replaced by a turtle shell shaped grappling hook called the "Turtle Line".
However, when the live-action movie came out in 1990, the "Ninja" of the title was kept even in the UK. In time, nunchaku scenes were retained in previously-censored movies such as those of Bruce Lee.
By the time of the 2003 TV series, these censorship policies had been abolished, and no changes have occurred in the content of the show. The name "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" remained unchanged for the 2003 TV series. As a result, in the UK, the 1987 TV series is still called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the 2003 TV series is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, hence a disambiguation between the two TV series."
----
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I conclude tonight's session of 'Random trivia you may (or may not necessarily) have been interested to know'.
Time for me to go to bed and catch up on sleep.
Let me begin by sharing some of the knowledge we acquired today in Advanced Graphics...
1. A name which anyone with an interest in graphic design, and particularly in film poster/title design, should know is that of Saul Bass. Genius. His prolific influence in that field is amazing. What we see in film title sequences today would not have been possible had Bass not broken out of the box of traditional film design... Here are some examples.
Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Inspired by Bass: Catch Me if You Can
Inspired by Bass: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Classic by Bass: PSYCHO (1960)
Watching the title sequence just now made me realize something! Listen to the music from 00:30 onwards... remind you of something? Yep, you guessed it! Busta Rhymes, caught in the act of plagiarism! :) I may be the last person on Earth to realize that, but at least give me some credit on figuring that one out on my own :)Here's 'Gimma Some More', for comparison. (not the official video though)
That note was technically an incidental addition to the list of today's random trivia. Now, to continue with a couple of more graphic design bits.
2. Peter Saville designed album covers for Joy Division. The band changed its name to New Order when the vocalist/guitarist passed away. (The music video I had posted a couple of days back, 'Blue Monday', was by New Order). Back to Saville: he designed the cover of the album 'Power, Corruption, and Lies' (1983) using a 19th century floral painting as the background, and hardly any text... later on he had to add the band name and album title... But note the little sequence of squares in the top right-hand corner of the CD. This is actually an encrypted message written in a special color-code language that Saville developed specifically for this project. The secret encoding reads 'FACT 75'.
A classmate of mine shared that piece of info in his presentation today, but I found another source of cool cryptic CD cover info.
3. Deborah Sussman - one designer I had to present on - is amazing!! If you like innovative spatial design, color explosions, and truly inspirational works of design and architecture, take a look at her website (at the moment, you can only download their info leaflet, but it's totally worth checkin it out).
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb23OuF9E56cVIZ0sYXRW4rO5iksCaqewNWIJFAybAQ25lh8PwILb8aHPL1Ro9aD4J11ONodTyr-YadHdsYFGlJMFeM1OEogQAxH2IU14Z26gin2ymLTbe9N8zeIF-GrhAvJr-yJn-zycO/s1600-h/Fullscreen+capture+24032009+010436.bmp.jpg">
And I think that's it for now... Last but not least, on the note of old cartoons again. This time it's the Ninja Turtles wohoo! Did you know that in Germany, the classic cartoon is not called 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' but rather 'Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles'. I was looking at some old cartoon intro videos and noticed that... at first it shattered my world and all my beliefs that those are the NINJA turtles. I thought I had been delusional all my life! But no, thankfully, I wasn't completely delusional.
And apparently it wasn't just the Germans who did that name change. Here's a little something from Wiki re: NINJA vs HERO Turtles ->
"Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Poland, Austria and Germany, the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT, for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have excessively violent connotations for a children's program. (In Ireland, however, the first season aired as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" before changing to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles".)[14] Consequently, everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released in these nations (comic books, video games, toys, etc.) The lyrics were also changed, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to the "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens."
The policies also had other effects, such as removing use of Michaelangelo's nunchaku (which were at the time banned from appearing in even 18-rated movies) and generally toning down the usage of all the turtles' weapons. After many seasons of never using his nunchaku, they eventually disappeared entirely, replaced by a turtle shell shaped grappling hook called the "Turtle Line".
However, when the live-action movie came out in 1990, the "Ninja" of the title was kept even in the UK. In time, nunchaku scenes were retained in previously-censored movies such as those of Bruce Lee.
By the time of the 2003 TV series, these censorship policies had been abolished, and no changes have occurred in the content of the show. The name "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" remained unchanged for the 2003 TV series. As a result, in the UK, the 1987 TV series is still called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the 2003 TV series is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, hence a disambiguation between the two TV series."
----
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I conclude tonight's session of 'Random trivia you may (or may not necessarily) have been interested to know'.
Time for me to go to bed and catch up on sleep.
Monday, 23 March 2009
So much for Spring...
Ironic, isn't it, that on the first day of 'astronomical spring' the gorgeous sunny London weather decides to give way to the usual rain and gloom all over. Perfect timing, I must say.
Today I found £20 on the floor of a tube station. Felt lucky :) I decided to give them away though, eventually, passing on their luckiness to a book seller. In exchange I got a book called London Calling - exciting stuff about 'high art and low culture in London from 1968 till today'. So you could say, London gave me the money and I gave it back to London. The rain came after that. I hope I didn't cause the rain... Hmmm.
Oh well, it's time to get on with Advanced Graphics now, Tomorrow's an important class day. Sigh.
Deadlines are all over the place. Seriously. Let's get kicking!
If it rains too much, there is a chance (acc. to the cheesy movie Flood which I couldn't even bear to watch to the end) that London will be flooded by the Great River Thames. So far that's not a threat... but, you know, it's predictions like these that make me grateful we live on the third floor and farther from the river...
Today I found £20 on the floor of a tube station. Felt lucky :) I decided to give them away though, eventually, passing on their luckiness to a book seller. In exchange I got a book called London Calling - exciting stuff about 'high art and low culture in London from 1968 till today'. So you could say, London gave me the money and I gave it back to London. The rain came after that. I hope I didn't cause the rain... Hmmm.
Oh well, it's time to get on with Advanced Graphics now, Tomorrow's an important class day. Sigh.
Deadlines are all over the place. Seriously. Let's get kicking!
If it rains too much, there is a chance (acc. to the cheesy movie Flood which I couldn't even bear to watch to the end) that London will be flooded by the Great River Thames. So far that's not a threat... but, you know, it's predictions like these that make me grateful we live on the third floor and farther from the river...
Sunday, 22 March 2009
I Just Can't Get Enough!
As I was walking back from campus this evening, I was listening to my trusty ipod shuffle, naturally, and this song came up... and it made me happy :D
Now I'm thinking about May 18 and Depeche in Sofia!! Can't wait! :))
Oh, and something reminded me of this video recently... a video that also makes me happy with its craziness and the awkwardness of the poor puppy... New Order alright!
I was going to post another video, but youtube keeps saying it's not available in my country, so I'm angry now. Anyway, guess I'll just watch the Blue Monday video and become happy again :)
Now I'm thinking about May 18 and Depeche in Sofia!! Can't wait! :))
Oh, and something reminded me of this video recently... a video that also makes me happy with its craziness and the awkwardness of the poor puppy... New Order alright!
I was going to post another video, but youtube keeps saying it's not available in my country, so I'm angry now. Anyway, guess I'll just watch the Blue Monday video and become happy again :)
Camden on a Sunday
First off, I need to say once more how exhilarating the gorgeous London weather is. Sunshine, warmth, and happy people all around!
On a sunny Sunday like, staying home studying is downright unnatural. Solution: go down to Camden town for some crowd-dodging and shopping.
It's always a unique experience, going to Camden. I'm getting quite used to it, though, as in the past two weeks I've been up there three times (and counting). Sundays are definitely the most crowded days; you can hardly see the sidewalk from all the people around you! Also, you get cross-eyed from the eclectic mix of styles, fashion, anti-fashion, colors, personalities, and cultures in the area.
Today I went there with a purpose in mind: to do some clothes shopping... it's one of the very few times I've actually gone anywhere with that particular goal. Exciting stuff! Jess and I walked over all the markets, looking for 'stuff' for me.
In the end, our adventure was successful and I came back home £84 lighter and with a few bags of fun new clothes and stuff to try on. I hate how much of a compulsive shopper I am... sigh. But I did get a couple of discounts at several stalls... and I was going to get loads of free stuff had I agreed to marry a pervy guy from Nepal who refered to me as the "chicka-chicka-boom-boom" lady... Haha. He gave me a discount, which is all I wanted :) No marriage yet.
Ah, Camden... always an adventure! Still haven't run into dear Amy Winehouse there... though we did see a guy in a banana suit (seemed a bit inappropriate that he was handing out Cancer Research leaflets).
On a sunny Sunday like, staying home studying is downright unnatural. Solution: go down to Camden town for some crowd-dodging and shopping.
It's always a unique experience, going to Camden. I'm getting quite used to it, though, as in the past two weeks I've been up there three times (and counting). Sundays are definitely the most crowded days; you can hardly see the sidewalk from all the people around you! Also, you get cross-eyed from the eclectic mix of styles, fashion, anti-fashion, colors, personalities, and cultures in the area.
Today I went there with a purpose in mind: to do some clothes shopping... it's one of the very few times I've actually gone anywhere with that particular goal. Exciting stuff! Jess and I walked over all the markets, looking for 'stuff' for me.
In the end, our adventure was successful and I came back home £84 lighter and with a few bags of fun new clothes and stuff to try on. I hate how much of a compulsive shopper I am... sigh. But I did get a couple of discounts at several stalls... and I was going to get loads of free stuff had I agreed to marry a pervy guy from Nepal who refered to me as the "chicka-chicka-boom-boom" lady... Haha. He gave me a discount, which is all I wanted :) No marriage yet.
Ah, Camden... always an adventure! Still haven't run into dear Amy Winehouse there... though we did see a guy in a banana suit (seemed a bit inappropriate that he was handing out Cancer Research leaflets).
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Playing for Change
Seen as change is undoubtedly The Word of the Moment, I thought it would be cool to post this video which I came across."Playing for Change" is such an inspirational idea, uniting people of the world through music. Then again, what better unifying force is there anyway? :) The aim of the organization/film is to promote peace and love around the planet, across cultures, through the magic of music.
While I'm posting a video from way back in November 2008, this topic is still fresh at the moment because the second Playing for Change DVD is coming up in April 2009! Enjoy! :)
While I'm posting a video from way back in November 2008, this topic is still fresh at the moment because the second Playing for Change DVD is coming up in April 2009! Enjoy! :)
A note on existentialism...
Saturday started off rather peacefully, with a walk to the local post office to pick up a package, and then breakfast at a French cafe nearby. Since I didn't have a companion at the cafe, I reverted to reading the press and some magazines.
An article on Existentialism caught my attention. I had never been particularly fond of existentialist thought; to me it seemed absurd to say that nothing has a meaning, that existence is futile, and that we do not leave anything behind us: in a nutshell, that life has no point.
But today, as I was reading, I thought this philosophy is more true than we'd like to believe. Although I'd still wish that at least something I do will matter to others, in the great scale of things my acts will be no more significant than those of a centipede crawling about or a rabbit chewing on a carrot... The whole idea of 'destined for greatness' could not be any more far from truth. We are little people living in our little worlds. That's that.
And you know what, that's probably one of the most liberating thoughts ever! Technically, if you know that your actions are microscopically important for the works of the Universe, then so much pressure is lifted from you. Even those of us who do become famous and project a great deal of influence, beit political, financial, or social, are still fairly insignificant.
Hmm... I remember reading Camus' Stranger back in 2006. Back then I thought the book was utterly depressing; when I finished it and the author made it clear that everything was insignificant and human existence is nothing more than a speck of time wasted on Earth, I almost felt betrayed (ironically, I was expecting a truly meaningful revelation at the end of the novel). Well, today I think I would appreciate the book more. I am beginning to see why Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and all other existentialists remain as some of the most highly revered philosophers of all time!
So, existentialism is still in the 'depressing' category of philophies in my classification, yet at the same time it has made me think about life, decisions and mistakes. Applying existentialist thought to everyday situations, one could argue that even if you do something that seems as a grave mistake at the time, it wouldn't really matter in the great scale of Everything; similarly, 'great' achievements are not all that great.
Conclusion? Just live your life! It's practically your only chance to do anything... And whatever you do will most likely only matter to you, maybe your family and friends; and before you know it, no one will remember what you did. Alright, then feel free, do what you want to do, don't take life too seriously, and enjoy your allocated gameplay time on Earth :)
An article on Existentialism caught my attention. I had never been particularly fond of existentialist thought; to me it seemed absurd to say that nothing has a meaning, that existence is futile, and that we do not leave anything behind us: in a nutshell, that life has no point.
But today, as I was reading, I thought this philosophy is more true than we'd like to believe. Although I'd still wish that at least something I do will matter to others, in the great scale of things my acts will be no more significant than those of a centipede crawling about or a rabbit chewing on a carrot... The whole idea of 'destined for greatness' could not be any more far from truth. We are little people living in our little worlds. That's that.
And you know what, that's probably one of the most liberating thoughts ever! Technically, if you know that your actions are microscopically important for the works of the Universe, then so much pressure is lifted from you. Even those of us who do become famous and project a great deal of influence, beit political, financial, or social, are still fairly insignificant.
Hmm... I remember reading Camus' Stranger back in 2006. Back then I thought the book was utterly depressing; when I finished it and the author made it clear that everything was insignificant and human existence is nothing more than a speck of time wasted on Earth, I almost felt betrayed (ironically, I was expecting a truly meaningful revelation at the end of the novel). Well, today I think I would appreciate the book more. I am beginning to see why Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and all other existentialists remain as some of the most highly revered philosophers of all time!
So, existentialism is still in the 'depressing' category of philophies in my classification, yet at the same time it has made me think about life, decisions and mistakes. Applying existentialist thought to everyday situations, one could argue that even if you do something that seems as a grave mistake at the time, it wouldn't really matter in the great scale of Everything; similarly, 'great' achievements are not all that great.
Conclusion? Just live your life! It's practically your only chance to do anything... And whatever you do will most likely only matter to you, maybe your family and friends; and before you know it, no one will remember what you did. Alright, then feel free, do what you want to do, don't take life too seriously, and enjoy your allocated gameplay time on Earth :)
Friday, 20 March 2009
Sunny Captain Crunch?
Seriously? They really have a Superhero who gives people advice on the Credit Crunch, cleverly named 'Captain Crunch'? ... Oh, the Sun... They sure know how to brighten credit-challenged Brits' days...
Captain Crunch
He'll help you solve the...
Da Crunchi Code... (and you just thought puns couldn't get any more lame:)
Well, I'm just going to point out some cereal ads from the 70's featuring a quirky, silly, slightly self-obsessed character by the name of Cap'n Crunch -> the only captain on the planet who has a brand of cereal named after him! What an honor...
And of course all that 'Captain' business reminded me of my childhood and the one hero who, in relation to my previous blog post, could save us all from the impending horror of 2030!
Captain Crunch
He'll help you solve the...
Da Crunchi Code... (and you just thought puns couldn't get any more lame:)
Well, I'm just going to point out some cereal ads from the 70's featuring a quirky, silly, slightly self-obsessed character by the name of Cap'n Crunch -> the only captain on the planet who has a brand of cereal named after him! What an honor...
And of course all that 'Captain' business reminded me of my childhood and the one hero who, in relation to my previous blog post, could save us all from the impending horror of 2030!
Where are we headed?
While I'm busy figuring out where I'm headed now, look at what a 'wonderful' prediction there is for the future of the world...
World Faces 'Perfect Storm' of Problems
By 2030, we'll be in a pretty bad place: an over-populated planet unable to sustain life; energy, food, and water shortages; excess of poverty and disease; possibly an ever increasing threat of global warming (which, by the way, I believe has taken over the UK recently with an unprecedented row of sunny, warm days - not a cloud in the sky; while that's simply marvelous for all of us sun-loving people, I do see it as slightly worrying, to say the least)... Let's keep our fingers crossed that this perfect storm will be avoided somehow... by a timely Apocalypse perhaps?
... While the Guardian is busy spooking people about their dreadful future, other exemplary publications such as the Sun (positively the most accurate, unbiased, and serious newspaper you could get your hands on) present quite crucial issues as this eccentric 'artwork' done by a drugged up chick on her bf's body...
Darling Dominique
As you can clearly see, there's something for anyone to read. Find your pick... But still, you have to keep in mind that you'd better live your life till 2030, for all sources say we'll be pretty f-ed up then... So enjoy today! :D
World Faces 'Perfect Storm' of Problems
By 2030, we'll be in a pretty bad place: an over-populated planet unable to sustain life; energy, food, and water shortages; excess of poverty and disease; possibly an ever increasing threat of global warming (which, by the way, I believe has taken over the UK recently with an unprecedented row of sunny, warm days - not a cloud in the sky; while that's simply marvelous for all of us sun-loving people, I do see it as slightly worrying, to say the least)... Let's keep our fingers crossed that this perfect storm will be avoided somehow... by a timely Apocalypse perhaps?
... While the Guardian is busy spooking people about their dreadful future, other exemplary publications such as the Sun (positively the most accurate, unbiased, and serious newspaper you could get your hands on) present quite crucial issues as this eccentric 'artwork' done by a drugged up chick on her bf's body...
Darling Dominique
As you can clearly see, there's something for anyone to read. Find your pick... But still, you have to keep in mind that you'd better live your life till 2030, for all sources say we'll be pretty f-ed up then... So enjoy today! :D
Time for a Change
You know how there comes a time when an individual decides that it's high time things around changed a bit? Well, ladies and gentlemen, this happened to me too. Perhaps several years late... but you know what they say - better late than never.
Now I'm on a quest to change for the better! How's that going to happen? Only time will tell.
All I know is, I've never felt more excited and determined to embrace the New! ... whatever it might be! It's amazing! It's the best feeling ever!
Time to let loose and carpe diem, right!?
Now I'm on a quest to change for the better! How's that going to happen? Only time will tell.
All I know is, I've never felt more excited and determined to embrace the New! ... whatever it might be! It's amazing! It's the best feeling ever!
Time to let loose and carpe diem, right!?
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Good times, good times...
I think this is probably the 5th or 6th time I've been trying to update this lil' blog... every time I've tried in the past few weeks, something unexpected has come up, or I simply decided to get on with a more pressing task (such as setting high scores on facebook games...). But at this exact moment, my alternative task for the evening is .. well... cleaning, which, frankly, I despise from the bottom of my heart! Haha... I like it when things are clean, but the actual 'getting there'.. uuugh.
Anyway, 'nuff complaints :) It's still enjoyable a) cause I'm dancing in the mean time, and b) cause tomorrow I'll have a guest yay! *hence the cleaning, cough cough. Iliyan - a friend from my summer internship and beyond - is comin' over to London wohoo! So naturally, I'm excited about that, and about the concerts and things we're about to see!! Pro ejemplo, Tuesday evening we'll be watching Brandon Flowers do his little shoulder movement of pure awesomeness live on stage in Manchester!! :D Manchester... hmm. It's close to Liverpool which is possibly one of the most disgusting names for cities ever used. "Let's go swimming in the pool of livers!" No thanks. Back to the excitement - yes, it shall be exciting, no doubt! :D
I think this semester I've spent most of my money on concerts and... food I guess.. What else.. no, cause before I used to spend most of my cash on Johnny Depp DVD's and Amazon purchases. Well, I'm an ebay girl now :) And I'm starting to get the hang of winning 'em bids! Also with that honor comes the responsibility of paying for the things I win... On my little list of events we have John Legend (tomorrow), Killers (Tuesday), possibly slip a little Tina on Wednesday, Pink and Calvin Harris in May, Depeche Mode on May 18th, and hopefully Michael Jackson in July!!! :D I think it's a pretty cool list :):) Aaaand, I did see Tina Turner live in concert for freeeeee (yay lucky random competition winnings!), and I saw U2 live on the roof of the BBC (they played 4 songs only, but you know what, it was random, so I loved it!), and I saw ... wait.. I think that's all .. gasp. Okay then, last semester, I saw Madonna, Kanye West, and Roisin Murphy. I think it's been a good year :) Only now I'm sort of running low on dinero, but you know what - it's soooo worth it!
I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing this summer; and I still have no clue.. I've applied to internships around and about, but I have no idea if I'm even going to get one... Sigh... But I'll keep trying, right! :D Wohoooo! Be prepared for updates!!!
And I think now I should go back to cleaning. Damn, time flies by... I hope the entire break doesn't fly by! (it has the tendency to do that though)... I guess I'll get some sleep for the heck of it ;) But only after I'm done with everything I need to do before tomorrow....... dot dot dot.
Anyway, 'nuff complaints :) It's still enjoyable a) cause I'm dancing in the mean time, and b) cause tomorrow I'll have a guest yay! *hence the cleaning, cough cough. Iliyan - a friend from my summer internship and beyond - is comin' over to London wohoo! So naturally, I'm excited about that, and about the concerts and things we're about to see!! Pro ejemplo, Tuesday evening we'll be watching Brandon Flowers do his little shoulder movement of pure awesomeness live on stage in Manchester!! :D Manchester... hmm. It's close to Liverpool which is possibly one of the most disgusting names for cities ever used. "Let's go swimming in the pool of livers!" No thanks. Back to the excitement - yes, it shall be exciting, no doubt! :D
I think this semester I've spent most of my money on concerts and... food I guess.. What else.. no, cause before I used to spend most of my cash on Johnny Depp DVD's and Amazon purchases. Well, I'm an ebay girl now :) And I'm starting to get the hang of winning 'em bids! Also with that honor comes the responsibility of paying for the things I win... On my little list of events we have John Legend (tomorrow), Killers (Tuesday), possibly slip a little Tina on Wednesday, Pink and Calvin Harris in May, Depeche Mode on May 18th, and hopefully Michael Jackson in July!!! :D I think it's a pretty cool list :):) Aaaand, I did see Tina Turner live in concert for freeeeee (yay lucky random competition winnings!), and I saw U2 live on the roof of the BBC (they played 4 songs only, but you know what, it was random, so I loved it!), and I saw ... wait.. I think that's all .. gasp. Okay then, last semester, I saw Madonna, Kanye West, and Roisin Murphy. I think it's been a good year :) Only now I'm sort of running low on dinero, but you know what - it's soooo worth it!
I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing this summer; and I still have no clue.. I've applied to internships around and about, but I have no idea if I'm even going to get one... Sigh... But I'll keep trying, right! :D Wohoooo! Be prepared for updates!!!
And I think now I should go back to cleaning. Damn, time flies by... I hope the entire break doesn't fly by! (it has the tendency to do that though)... I guess I'll get some sleep for the heck of it ;) But only after I'm done with everything I need to do before tomorrow....... dot dot dot.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Reality Check
All the snow in London is gone. The only reminiscences of the fluffy white days are the random carrots, scattered around streets and courtyards... all the noses of the snowmen... Sigh.
As London's back to its usual, rainy self, I've been busy thinking up designs for one of my classes. I seem to be doing something terribly wrong, bringing my professor to the verge mental breakdown, resulting in mental breakdown on my part, naturally... It's not that bad, but he's just one of those people who have slight issues with their temper and probably do not know the term 'constructive' criticism... It's SEARCH AND DESTROY for them :) We'll survive in the end, though... After tons of work, which is what today is all about...
I've been distracting myself with all sorts of distractions in the mean time; I felt quite accomplished yesterday - I finally finished a leisure book :)) And it was a great one, too, very convoluted and captivating; and one of the longer novels I've read. So there, some distractions have been quite productive.
I'm already longing for Spring Break, though, which probably won't be that much of a 'break' - rather, it will be time for partey, fun, explorations, and the Killers!! AH! :D Hahaha, yep, we will sing Human at the top of our lungs!! In Manchester, too! :) Hooray for adventures!!!!
So much for updates now.. I'm off to get a quick power snack and then - whooosh - illustrator tiiiime!
As London's back to its usual, rainy self, I've been busy thinking up designs for one of my classes. I seem to be doing something terribly wrong, bringing my professor to the verge mental breakdown, resulting in mental breakdown on my part, naturally... It's not that bad, but he's just one of those people who have slight issues with their temper and probably do not know the term 'constructive' criticism... It's SEARCH AND DESTROY for them :) We'll survive in the end, though... After tons of work, which is what today is all about...
I've been distracting myself with all sorts of distractions in the mean time; I felt quite accomplished yesterday - I finally finished a leisure book :)) And it was a great one, too, very convoluted and captivating; and one of the longer novels I've read. So there, some distractions have been quite productive.
I'm already longing for Spring Break, though, which probably won't be that much of a 'break' - rather, it will be time for partey, fun, explorations, and the Killers!! AH! :D Hahaha, yep, we will sing Human at the top of our lungs!! In Manchester, too! :) Hooray for adventures!!!!
So much for updates now.. I'm off to get a quick power snack and then - whooosh - illustrator tiiiime!
Monday, 2 February 2009
Snow in London!
You know how I've been wishing for snow for soooo long?? Well, ladies and gentlemen, my wish finally came true!! :)) And guess what? I'm lovin' it!!! :D It's funny that London pretty much stopped functioning due to the 'heavy' snowfall - but it's understandable in the end, when you consider that there's no snow here.. ever. Classes are canceled, public transportation is down, people are slipping in the streets - it's marvelous :) The second floor of the V&A museum was also closed due to the snowfall. Go figure.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Поредните лоши новини...
Всеки път щом отворя сайта на нетинфо.бг оставам малко или повече втрещена... защо трябва винаги негативните новини да преобладават... то не са убийства и произшествия, корупция и мошеничество, нелепа смърт и побоища, мизерия и оплаквания... Едва ли не излиза, че нищо хубаво не се случва. И всеки път виновните се изплъзват или с лека присъда, или с купчинка пари, или с мазни думи. И -ха- да има малко надежда, че нещата ще се оправят - тя бива заличена на момента с поредната доза негативизъм; или с поредния съкрушителен доклад на евро комисията. Какво стана след няколкото протеста? Миков още си е вкопчен в поста си като пиявица, други промени май не настъпиха, освен опитите да се рестартират блокове на АЕЦ, тъй да се каже нелегално... само дето хората не искаха това да става... Но както и да е, пак ще се усетим, че нещо е нередно след като е твърде късно... След дъжд качулка, това ни е житейският принцип очевидно.
Жалко само, че има толкова прекрасни хора, които непрестанно страдат от простотиите в нашата иначе много красива и природно надарена държава. Дано дойде моментът и за нашият 'Обама', който да промени ситуацията (или поне, който да дава добри обещания как ще промени всичко). Американците се оплакваха от осемте години страдание под управлението на Буш, ама ние колко години трябва да чакаме да ни огрее малко слънчице?
Уф, нещо се депресирах сега от тези писания. Искам само малко промяна; ей така причина и ние да сме супер щастливи; разбира се по-голямо щастие от това човек да е заобиколен от верни приятели, обичан и здрав няма, но и това щастие само до един момент може да поддържа духа над цялата лютеница...
Нека все пак си вярваме, че в един удобен момент всичко ще се оправи! А дотогава, we're halfway there, living on a prayer... :)
Жалко само, че има толкова прекрасни хора, които непрестанно страдат от простотиите в нашата иначе много красива и природно надарена държава. Дано дойде моментът и за нашият 'Обама', който да промени ситуацията (или поне, който да дава добри обещания как ще промени всичко). Американците се оплакваха от осемте години страдание под управлението на Буш, ама ние колко години трябва да чакаме да ни огрее малко слънчице?
Уф, нещо се депресирах сега от тези писания. Искам само малко промяна; ей така причина и ние да сме супер щастливи; разбира се по-голямо щастие от това човек да е заобиколен от верни приятели, обичан и здрав няма, но и това щастие само до един момент може да поддържа духа над цялата лютеница...
Нека все пак си вярваме, че в един удобен момент всичко ще се оправи! А дотогава, we're halfway there, living on a prayer... :)
Late Night Adventures
Jess, Rocio and I went club-hopping last night as part of my tilllate assignments, and boy, did we have a grand time!! We went to two places, Jewel and Verve. Jewel was sooo crowded, and the music wasn't too danceable either, so we didn't stay there too long... Yet the next club we went to - Verve - was amazing! :D
On our way there though, aka the great trek between Piccadilly and Leicester Square, we had to take out money. The ATM was on the opposite side of the street... we started crossing, but then saw cars approaching us at dangerous rates, and rushed back to the sidewalk. Great, only Rocio's credit card fell in the middle of the road... It got run over by a black cab and a few other cars, with us watching in shock what we thought were the last moments of that card... As soon as the cars stopped, Jess rushed to pick up the card which had miraculously survived; not only that, but the card was also kind enough to give us money :)
As soon as we got to Verve, we loved the music they were playing! A brief 'karaoke' session and then I was off to take pics. In the process, I discovered that there was a whole separate section of the club underground - mega cool :D So we danced the night away, having the best Saturday night imaginable!
At around 3am, we left the club reluctantly; we walked back to Piccadilly quickly and reached our bus stop just as the N97 was pulling up... Darn! We had to wait for the next bus; in the mean time, I found some rancom 'club points' card on the ground - nothing interesting... our bus arrived and I started searching for my travel card (which I had randomly found at the tube station:). Well, I couldn't find it... or any of my ID and key cards for that matter... everything had disappeared! :O All my cards were in my camera bag and must have fallen out ... :S I looked through my pockets in a rush and started panicking internally at least... The bus was about to leave! AH! In the last possible moment, Jess and Rocio got on the bus as I rushed back to Verve...
Galloping to Leicester square, thoughts rushed through my heads - 'oh, mom, i lost my cards... again...' - not the best possible conversation... Also, I remembered the ATM incident earlier... I had taken money out as well... duh... And I stopped. There was one pocket I hadn't checked... Guess what? Everything was there! Jeeez, one day I'll get a heart attack like that!!! Hahaha... Yep. So I ran back to the bus stop and got the next bus back home yay!
Nighttime London is kinda gross. There are drunk people everywhere, there's broken glass, waste, puke, lost shoes and what not. Ugh. As long as you ignore the disgusting state of the pavement and avoid the swaying people all around, you can thoroughly enjoy the marvel and beauty of the London lights! :)
On our way there though, aka the great trek between Piccadilly and Leicester Square, we had to take out money. The ATM was on the opposite side of the street... we started crossing, but then saw cars approaching us at dangerous rates, and rushed back to the sidewalk. Great, only Rocio's credit card fell in the middle of the road... It got run over by a black cab and a few other cars, with us watching in shock what we thought were the last moments of that card... As soon as the cars stopped, Jess rushed to pick up the card which had miraculously survived; not only that, but the card was also kind enough to give us money :)
As soon as we got to Verve, we loved the music they were playing! A brief 'karaoke' session and then I was off to take pics. In the process, I discovered that there was a whole separate section of the club underground - mega cool :D So we danced the night away, having the best Saturday night imaginable!
At around 3am, we left the club reluctantly; we walked back to Piccadilly quickly and reached our bus stop just as the N97 was pulling up... Darn! We had to wait for the next bus; in the mean time, I found some rancom 'club points' card on the ground - nothing interesting... our bus arrived and I started searching for my travel card (which I had randomly found at the tube station:). Well, I couldn't find it... or any of my ID and key cards for that matter... everything had disappeared! :O All my cards were in my camera bag and must have fallen out ... :S I looked through my pockets in a rush and started panicking internally at least... The bus was about to leave! AH! In the last possible moment, Jess and Rocio got on the bus as I rushed back to Verve...
Galloping to Leicester square, thoughts rushed through my heads - 'oh, mom, i lost my cards... again...' - not the best possible conversation... Also, I remembered the ATM incident earlier... I had taken money out as well... duh... And I stopped. There was one pocket I hadn't checked... Guess what? Everything was there! Jeeez, one day I'll get a heart attack like that!!! Hahaha... Yep. So I ran back to the bus stop and got the next bus back home yay!
Nighttime London is kinda gross. There are drunk people everywhere, there's broken glass, waste, puke, lost shoes and what not. Ugh. As long as you ignore the disgusting state of the pavement and avoid the swaying people all around, you can thoroughly enjoy the marvel and beauty of the London lights! :)
Friday, 30 January 2009
Frustrations and others...
Today in my Politics of the MidEast class we discussed some of the historical background of the conflict-torn region. It seemed that countries today are largely basing their relationships on feuds from the past. Iran would like for the US to apologize for injustices done in the past before the two countries can begin working towards truly peaceful relations.
Personally, I think that is silly.
Why? Because what happened in the past... is in the past! Why do people today have to pay for the mistakes of their forefathers? I see no sense in this... Of course, there is the argument that history cannot just be forgotten, but if you want to 'get even' with someone, at least do it with the right people - the ones who were guilty in the first place! Otherwise, I'd never have a friend from Turkey cause I HATE Turkish people who ruled over our lands for 500 years!! Yeah, yeah.. Does it make any sense?? No. People now are different. You can't simply hate others for something they haven't even been part of. If my Turkish friend flat out told me something horrible that I couldn't forgive, okay, maybe I'd hate them later on; but basing my attitudes on intangible, unrelated things of the past is not right.
In an unrelated story, I just saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it was indeed curious... it's one of those sad movies that make you cry in the end unless someone makes a silly comment to which you simply burst out laughing and forget the touching moments of the film.... Oh well... It was still a good movie. It made me think a lot about life and love and time.. sigh..
Speaking of time, it's time once again to do some nocturnal work. Love uni life!
Personally, I think that is silly.
Why? Because what happened in the past... is in the past! Why do people today have to pay for the mistakes of their forefathers? I see no sense in this... Of course, there is the argument that history cannot just be forgotten, but if you want to 'get even' with someone, at least do it with the right people - the ones who were guilty in the first place! Otherwise, I'd never have a friend from Turkey cause I HATE Turkish people who ruled over our lands for 500 years!! Yeah, yeah.. Does it make any sense?? No. People now are different. You can't simply hate others for something they haven't even been part of. If my Turkish friend flat out told me something horrible that I couldn't forgive, okay, maybe I'd hate them later on; but basing my attitudes on intangible, unrelated things of the past is not right.
In an unrelated story, I just saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it was indeed curious... it's one of those sad movies that make you cry in the end unless someone makes a silly comment to which you simply burst out laughing and forget the touching moments of the film.... Oh well... It was still a good movie. It made me think a lot about life and love and time.. sigh..
Speaking of time, it's time once again to do some nocturnal work. Love uni life!
Sunday, 25 January 2009
One week down...
I still can't believe the new semester is already rollin'.
Time is so unpredictable and flows in mysterious ways.
The past week has been full of new classes, old faces, new outings, old habits... It's been a week of adaptation, so to speak. Speaking of speech, I have instances when I randomly blurb out something in Bulgarian without even realizing it. Ha. It hasn't happened before - normally I can barely make a sentence in Bulgarian without inserting at least 2-3 English words in there, but now it's slightly different.
Anyway, my two favorite roomies and I started working on the Ultimate London BucketList which includes a whole bunch of places we want to visit before we leave London (not before we kick the bucket, okay?). It's time to start ticking items off that list cause before I know it .. poof... Uni will be over, and wham, the future shall slap us in the face in whatever way it wants :)
Time is so unpredictable and flows in mysterious ways.
The past week has been full of new classes, old faces, new outings, old habits... It's been a week of adaptation, so to speak. Speaking of speech, I have instances when I randomly blurb out something in Bulgarian without even realizing it. Ha. It hasn't happened before - normally I can barely make a sentence in Bulgarian without inserting at least 2-3 English words in there, but now it's slightly different.
Anyway, my two favorite roomies and I started working on the Ultimate London BucketList which includes a whole bunch of places we want to visit before we leave London (not before we kick the bucket, okay?). It's time to start ticking items off that list cause before I know it .. poof... Uni will be over, and wham, the future shall slap us in the face in whatever way it wants :)
Monday, 19 January 2009
Back in LDN
And it feels like I never left :)
London is just the same as I remember it; the usual clouds are out today, I even got rained on :) The streets, the shops, the people, the school, the messiness of my room - everything is just the way I left it.
Hmmm. It's like deja vu!
Now that we're in London mode, we'll start working towards making this semster the best thing ever! :D Alright! Lots of events, trips, concerts, surprises, explorations, etc, etc should take place over the next months! Of course I realise I'm great at planning things in my head, but when it comes to turning the plans into actions, that's where I begin to fail, accomplishing only about 10-20% of what I plan. Sigh.. And I always blame it on the lack of time; if that's not a lame excuse, what is? So a goal for this semester will be to accomplish at least 40% of all my plans! Okay? OKAY!
London is just the same as I remember it; the usual clouds are out today, I even got rained on :) The streets, the shops, the people, the school, the messiness of my room - everything is just the way I left it.
Hmmm. It's like deja vu!
Now that we're in London mode, we'll start working towards making this semster the best thing ever! :D Alright! Lots of events, trips, concerts, surprises, explorations, etc, etc should take place over the next months! Of course I realise I'm great at planning things in my head, but when it comes to turning the plans into actions, that's where I begin to fail, accomplishing only about 10-20% of what I plan. Sigh.. And I always blame it on the lack of time; if that's not a lame excuse, what is? So a goal for this semester will be to accomplish at least 40% of all my plans! Okay? OKAY!
Friday, 16 January 2009
Another break is over
A month and seven days.. Gone. Wow. It's unbelievable!
Actually, it felt like a pretty long time. And it was AWESOME, beyond awesome!! I had so much fun once again! And.. once again, it wasn't the most productive time of my life, sigh, yet at least I got to chillax for a while. Now it's back to Uni life. Oh yeah!
And once again, I don't really feel like going back to the UK yet. I don't know why. On one hand, omg, London - always good to be there. On the other... hmm... back to insomnia?! Haha, oh dear insomnia! My biological clock is forever screwed up thanks to the late nights and early mornings :)
Excitement... this semester will be fun, I'm sure! Once again I'll have the omnipresent pressure of the scholarship issue, but I'm ready - bring it on! Going back to study mode will take a while, considering how long I've been laid back for... But I'm sure time will fly again... as it always does in the great circle of life! :D
I'll stop writing now. I feel like my fingers want to keep typing but my brain can't keep up with that (I'm quite sleepy for some odd reason). Ready to go skiing tomorrow?
Actually, it felt like a pretty long time. And it was AWESOME, beyond awesome!! I had so much fun once again! And.. once again, it wasn't the most productive time of my life, sigh, yet at least I got to chillax for a while. Now it's back to Uni life. Oh yeah!
And once again, I don't really feel like going back to the UK yet. I don't know why. On one hand, omg, London - always good to be there. On the other... hmm... back to insomnia?! Haha, oh dear insomnia! My biological clock is forever screwed up thanks to the late nights and early mornings :)
Excitement... this semester will be fun, I'm sure! Once again I'll have the omnipresent pressure of the scholarship issue, but I'm ready - bring it on! Going back to study mode will take a while, considering how long I've been laid back for... But I'm sure time will fly again... as it always does in the great circle of life! :D
I'll stop writing now. I feel like my fingers want to keep typing but my brain can't keep up with that (I'm quite sleepy for some odd reason). Ready to go skiing tomorrow?
Monday, 12 January 2009
Sweet Revenge
Ah, neighbors... wonderful, kind, lovable neighbors... who try to screw over our plans. HA. If that's the way you want it, you've got it :) It's WAR, baby! And if there's nothing else I can use, at least I have super loud music blastin' at almost 1am. Sweet dreams (not), losers.
Hater mode NOW.
Hater mode NOW.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
And back...
Hellooo, Sofia!
Ah.. gotta love the snow... all the wonderfully dirty, darkish, yucky snow on the streets; the streets that have not been cleared from most of the snow - after all, it's a well-known fact that snowy, icy streets are so much better than clean ones, right? Also, who the heck needs to clear the airport and all the tracks there. Nah, planes can land on snow, no biggie! :) Gotta love Bulgaria, always dealing with all of nature's surprises adequately! Love it. Hence on the 14th of Jan., hopefully, Bulgarians will rise against the goverment, and overthrow all the corrupted sons of female doggies with a horrifying uprising! YEAH! haha, well, maybe not quite. I kinda feel that pretty much.. no one will show up :( Don't know why I have that feeling. BUT if you can, join in the protest, should be exciting! In front of the parliament at 11am till about midnight. Hmm, technically that will be the first protest I've attended in my conscious life (ie since communism fell, perhaps?). No wait, I've participated in a few protests, but only minor ones.. and this one, apparently, is going to be national! I wonder if anything will happen... I'll have my camera out just in case!
Also, I do believe it's high time to run for president of Bulgaria, as that old lady in the park told me 6 years ago... :P I'll keep you posted on my candidacy :)
Ah.. gotta love the snow... all the wonderfully dirty, darkish, yucky snow on the streets; the streets that have not been cleared from most of the snow - after all, it's a well-known fact that snowy, icy streets are so much better than clean ones, right? Also, who the heck needs to clear the airport and all the tracks there. Nah, planes can land on snow, no biggie! :) Gotta love Bulgaria, always dealing with all of nature's surprises adequately! Love it. Hence on the 14th of Jan., hopefully, Bulgarians will rise against the goverment, and overthrow all the corrupted sons of female doggies with a horrifying uprising! YEAH! haha, well, maybe not quite. I kinda feel that pretty much.. no one will show up :( Don't know why I have that feeling. BUT if you can, join in the protest, should be exciting! In front of the parliament at 11am till about midnight. Hmm, technically that will be the first protest I've attended in my conscious life (ie since communism fell, perhaps?). No wait, I've participated in a few protests, but only minor ones.. and this one, apparently, is going to be national! I wonder if anything will happen... I'll have my camera out just in case!
Also, I do believe it's high time to run for president of Bulgaria, as that old lady in the park told me 6 years ago... :P I'll keep you posted on my candidacy :)
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Almost over
Sigh... the Zurich getaway is almost at an end... It was so much fun! Hehe.
I'm excited about the last week in Sofia though! It should entail skiing, hanging out with friends, working on a couple of projects, protesting in front of the parliament and all sorts of other thrilling events! :D Yeah!
And then exactly one week later, I'll be in London. Hmm, at least I hope the weather will be nice. Who knows, who knows... Getting back into study-insomnia mode will be mildly challenging, but hey, it's a new semester full of so many surprises!! :) I have a lot more exploring to do in LDN, so get ready for action! :D
Also, as part of my still unwritten New Year's Resolutions (for example), I plan on updating this blog more, if only for the sake of the 4-5 people who read it every once in a while :)
Other resolutions might include more exploring of London, putting together a proper portfolio (about time), studyin' hard, having fun yay, setting long- and short-term goals and actually achieving them, finding another internship for this summer, becoming super active in any sense of the word, really, and enjoying every moment of my life... amen :)
We'll see what will happen. C'est la vie, after all.
I'm excited about the last week in Sofia though! It should entail skiing, hanging out with friends, working on a couple of projects, protesting in front of the parliament and all sorts of other thrilling events! :D Yeah!
And then exactly one week later, I'll be in London. Hmm, at least I hope the weather will be nice. Who knows, who knows... Getting back into study-insomnia mode will be mildly challenging, but hey, it's a new semester full of so many surprises!! :) I have a lot more exploring to do in LDN, so get ready for action! :D
Also, as part of my still unwritten New Year's Resolutions (for example), I plan on updating this blog more, if only for the sake of the 4-5 people who read it every once in a while :)
Other resolutions might include more exploring of London, putting together a proper portfolio (about time), studyin' hard, having fun yay, setting long- and short-term goals and actually achieving them, finding another internship for this summer, becoming super active in any sense of the word, really, and enjoying every moment of my life... amen :)
We'll see what will happen. C'est la vie, after all.
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
A Schwiizer Break
Whoa, finally another blog entry! It's been almost a month since the last time I was around. And what a month it's beeeeen! :D
Christmas is the best time of the year! (unless of course there's just coldness and gloominess and no snow whatsoever...) This Christmas break has been one of the best I've had - complete with friends, parties, fun, lazy times, trips, adventures, and all the rest. It's sad, though, that I only got to see my ACS for 2 evenings :( Either way, seeing them at least once is better than not at all, right? Love 'em!
I also got to hang out with the usual suspects from LBS again, hehe. We had one heck of a Christmas party, full of surprises and a bit toooo much fun (and a bit too much Bahamen)... What more can you ask for than a night full of dancing and cheering, and genuine awesomeness? :) That was Dec. 20/Dec. 21 (we finished at around 5am; though personally I could have kept on going till, I don't know, 9am? which is technically when I woke up and started roaming the streets of Sofia cause I just felt like listening to music and walking (in the rhythm of the songs of course)).
My Sofia days after that went by so fast - whoosh! Before I knew it, I was airborne on my way to Zurich with Mary, a great friend of mine. Oh, the good times, the good times! :D We made our way to Herrliberg-Feldmeilen quickly and painlessly, and here we met up with los Mexicanos Dessy and Nicky. Los Mexicanos - because the day after we arrived at their place in Zh, they flew away to Mexico and Guatemala to meet up with my parents. Mom and Dad celebrated their 25 anniversary in November and decided to continue celebrating with a two-week trip to Central/South America and the like. Though I'm a tad disappointed that I didn't get to go with them, I guess I got compensation here in Feldmeilen - if nothing else, at least we have a little llama farm near the house! :D
And how could I be disappointed when I got to spend New Year's Eve with a most entertaining gang of people :)) Kety, Ivo, Ireto, Tony, Mary, Harry, and Matro... We drove Feldmeilen mildly insane hahaha. True, we may have gone to bed early-ish on NYE, buuut the day before that and the day after were legendary :D Try cooking 7 NYE dishes with a belated hangover... sigh. Oh, the fond memories :) We walked around Zurich, Lucerne; mostly, though, we danced around the house cause we're dancer. Yahoo!
It was a fabulous week! Now Mary and I are still chillin' by the Zurich lake with Bobby the Golden Boy (dog). Every now and then we take a hike to downtown Zurich, to our favorite pub The Lion (great, right, I'm going to a British pub in Switzerland! wooow...) The place is cool nonetheless, far better than the Bloody Thumb (a typical Swiss Bierhaus with a typically grumpy Serbian waiter haha). We're listening to Viva Music Channel where the top songs are Human, Sober, Lost, Forgive Me, and random Verve tunes... I can sing any one of these now :D Especially Human, oh yeah!! Ah, the music obsessions :) See, I even have some free time to update this blog, baby! :D Here we go again with the smiley overdose... oh boy.
Just to mention, my sleep pattern is finally back to relatively normal! Ironic, isn't it... in about 12 days it will be insomnia all over again! lol. Okay, that's all for right now.
A happy new year to everyone! Wish you all the best - may all your dreams come true and may you feel good about life, love, and yourselves! Be happy always!!
Christmas is the best time of the year! (unless of course there's just coldness and gloominess and no snow whatsoever...) This Christmas break has been one of the best I've had - complete with friends, parties, fun, lazy times, trips, adventures, and all the rest. It's sad, though, that I only got to see my ACS for 2 evenings :( Either way, seeing them at least once is better than not at all, right? Love 'em!
I also got to hang out with the usual suspects from LBS again, hehe. We had one heck of a Christmas party, full of surprises and a bit toooo much fun (and a bit too much Bahamen)... What more can you ask for than a night full of dancing and cheering, and genuine awesomeness? :) That was Dec. 20/Dec. 21 (we finished at around 5am; though personally I could have kept on going till, I don't know, 9am? which is technically when I woke up and started roaming the streets of Sofia cause I just felt like listening to music and walking (in the rhythm of the songs of course)).
My Sofia days after that went by so fast - whoosh! Before I knew it, I was airborne on my way to Zurich with Mary, a great friend of mine. Oh, the good times, the good times! :D We made our way to Herrliberg-Feldmeilen quickly and painlessly, and here we met up with los Mexicanos Dessy and Nicky. Los Mexicanos - because the day after we arrived at their place in Zh, they flew away to Mexico and Guatemala to meet up with my parents. Mom and Dad celebrated their 25 anniversary in November and decided to continue celebrating with a two-week trip to Central/South America and the like. Though I'm a tad disappointed that I didn't get to go with them, I guess I got compensation here in Feldmeilen - if nothing else, at least we have a little llama farm near the house! :D
And how could I be disappointed when I got to spend New Year's Eve with a most entertaining gang of people :)) Kety, Ivo, Ireto, Tony, Mary, Harry, and Matro... We drove Feldmeilen mildly insane hahaha. True, we may have gone to bed early-ish on NYE, buuut the day before that and the day after were legendary :D Try cooking 7 NYE dishes with a belated hangover... sigh. Oh, the fond memories :) We walked around Zurich, Lucerne; mostly, though, we danced around the house cause we're dancer. Yahoo!
It was a fabulous week! Now Mary and I are still chillin' by the Zurich lake with Bobby the Golden Boy (dog). Every now and then we take a hike to downtown Zurich, to our favorite pub The Lion (great, right, I'm going to a British pub in Switzerland! wooow...) The place is cool nonetheless, far better than the Bloody Thumb (a typical Swiss Bierhaus with a typically grumpy Serbian waiter haha). We're listening to Viva Music Channel where the top songs are Human, Sober, Lost, Forgive Me, and random Verve tunes... I can sing any one of these now :D Especially Human, oh yeah!! Ah, the music obsessions :) See, I even have some free time to update this blog, baby! :D Here we go again with the smiley overdose... oh boy.
Just to mention, my sleep pattern is finally back to relatively normal! Ironic, isn't it... in about 12 days it will be insomnia all over again! lol. Okay, that's all for right now.
A happy new year to everyone! Wish you all the best - may all your dreams come true and may you feel good about life, love, and yourselves! Be happy always!!
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Home, Sweet Home
Ah... back. Finally.
Actually, it's been a week since I landed in the Bulga-ria. I've been sinfully lazy... Having a great time, too! :)
I've been hanging out with a whole bunch of friends in various locations, from mountain houses to jazz clubs :) It's been amazing, quite foodful :) Oh boy... good food is all around! And guess what, NO CORIANDER! :D Yeah!
Uhm, I was hoping for snow, but sadly there has been none... :( Sofia is bland and bleak. It's even worse than London cause at least London had tons of Xmas decorations whereas Sofia has almost none (kinda like my room). Sigh...
But the Christmas spirit of carefree happiness is all around!!! I'm happy :) You're happy... We're all Happy!!! :):D
And that's the point where my writing enthusiasm dies :P
Actually, it's been a week since I landed in the Bulga-ria. I've been sinfully lazy... Having a great time, too! :)
I've been hanging out with a whole bunch of friends in various locations, from mountain houses to jazz clubs :) It's been amazing, quite foodful :) Oh boy... good food is all around! And guess what, NO CORIANDER! :D Yeah!
Uhm, I was hoping for snow, but sadly there has been none... :( Sofia is bland and bleak. It's even worse than London cause at least London had tons of Xmas decorations whereas Sofia has almost none (kinda like my room). Sigh...
But the Christmas spirit of carefree happiness is all around!!! I'm happy :) You're happy... We're all Happy!!! :):D
And that's the point where my writing enthusiasm dies :P
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Just One More....
Ooooonnneeee more eexaaaaaaam, oh yay, and I'll be happy ever after :)) Haha. Awesome!!! Alright... one more, one more, ONE MORE! :D
Monday, 8 December 2008
One down...
One exam is done. All we have left now is two more exams! YAY!
Only problem is, the first exam I had was also the easiest :S
So the next couple of days shall be hell in a way :) And after Wednesday, Heaven will come!!! :D
Just a few more daaaays...
Only problem is, the first exam I had was also the easiest :S
So the next couple of days shall be hell in a way :) And after Wednesday, Heaven will come!!! :D
Just a few more daaaays...
Sunday, 7 December 2008
4 days, 3 finals
Alright.... time is ticking away and my flight back home is drawing closer and closer! :D I am absolutely ready for a break from school. This has been one buuuusy semester, but it was also full of loads of fun events! :) I loved the pure randomness of some days... and the excitement, and the parties, and hanging out with friends, and exploring London, and walking in the rain, and running around like a crazy fool, and drawing and designing, and dancing in my room, and smiling, and all that jazz... That I'll miss (practically everything but classwork;)
However, back home I'm ready for even moooore fun!!! And seeing all my friends again and enjoying the Christmas spirit!
Really, really excited I am :D
Only packing up my stuff will be a bit of a pain, but I'll worry about that once exams are done. :)
See you all soon! (well, and others I wish I could see really soon...)
However, back home I'm ready for even moooore fun!!! And seeing all my friends again and enjoying the Christmas spirit!
Really, really excited I am :D
Only packing up my stuff will be a bit of a pain, but I'll worry about that once exams are done. :)
See you all soon! (well, and others I wish I could see really soon...)
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Almost there!
YES! Today marked the end of an era... the end of advertising management :) A class which haunted me at night and brought shivers to my spine lol. The idea of the class - brilliant, it's just what I want to be doing BUT the execution... eeerrm, far from amazing... it's never good to blame others, but in this case I think the entire class will agree that if the teaching method in the class was slightly different, the overall experience would have been phenomenal :) Alas, it is what it is... or... it was what it was :) And now all that's left is a teeeenie-weeenie final exam worth 50% of everything.
That's the way, a-ha a-ha, I like it, a-ha, a-ha! :D
That's the way, a-ha a-ha, I like it, a-ha, a-ha! :D
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Can't wait!!!
Only three more weeks!!! Just threeeee!!! And I'll be hooooooome!!!!!!!
:D
Can you tell I'm excited?!
Nope.
Hehe.
Well, here are but a few reasons to be looking forward to home (not necessarilly in order of importance... more like, in order of 'my-brain-just-thought-of-that-now')
1) Snoooooow - i can't wait to play in the snow and enjoy a real winter for a change ;) I think the main reason I put this as number 1 is that so many people now are saying that it's like a winter wonderland back home and I am becoming increasingly envious of them (in a good way tho)
2) Hooome - just the thought of chillin' back home with my puppy and basking in familial love makes my heart warm :)
3) Christmaaaas - OMG can't wait for that super fun holiday! I love the spirit of Christmas and how all people suddenly start acting friendly; it's a miracle ! especially in Bulgaria ;) Hehe.
4) Friiiieeeeeennndssssss - Wohoooo, that's totally reason number ONE! :D:D:D I can't wait to see everyone I haven't seen in, oh, so long (or not THAT long, but it still seems like forever!)
And just cause I'm in a Christmassy mood, I'll post a link that's for all you wonderful friends that I'm going to see very soon! (Cheesy at it might be, I still love the message of that song;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8rY0Fyws20
So be happy everyone, have an amazing time, enjoy everything, and see you sooooon!
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Papers, papers, papers
Killing trees and squeezing all creative juices out of my brain - that's what I've been up to recently. And, naturally, I've been finding new and exciting ways to get distracted by the randomest things ever (making up words is so much fun!). I really need to make up about 1200 more words now, describing the works of a photographer of my choice (in my case, Elliott Erwitt - who I did NOT choose because of his fuuuunny images of doggies and life in general:) And then I have more work to do. And I will not sleep again... Sigh.. Hey, it's not even midnight yet, so I'm ahead of the game! :D (normally work starts after midnight and finishes at around 4 am .. though 2 days ago I finished at 6 am) Oh, University regime, how messed up you are!
I'll end this post now, as I feel it might be useful to add to my paper's word count now. Love you all!
I'll end this post now, as I feel it might be useful to add to my paper's word count now. Love you all!
Monday, 10 November 2008
November Rain
November is possibly the most pointless month out of all twelve. It's not quite Christmas yet, the pretty colorful leaves have all fallen down already, Halloween is done, and the only cool thing you get is Thanksgiving (only if you belong to a culture which celebrates it). Sure, happy birthday to everyone born in that month - you must have fun! But I think for most people, including Axel Rose & Co., November simply stands for rain and cold..
I don't like the rain that much, especially if it falls as often as it does here in London. Today, for example, is a disgusting day... so gloomy and wet. It's barely 3:30 pm yet it's already getting dark. Daylight savings should have gone the other way around... And while we're on that topic, why don't we make days last 48 hours instead? Work time will stil be 8 hours, but then there will be more opportunities for hanging out and wait, SLEEPING. Yay! That would be so cool :D And that way people will take twice as much to age.. so we'll all be forever young Hooray!
Oh... I think I got excited over something relatively impossible again.
November. Busy month. Lots of work, decisions to be made, projects to be completed, papers to be writ'. Sigh. But hey! It's also Kanye West month... I'll call it KW(ednesday). Sweet. Concert this Wednesday! I can't wait - I feel like dancing so much! And for once, I would like to dance outside the confines of my room ;)
And then Nov. 29 we have Roisin Murphy - who'll go crazy in the Carling Academy in Brixton! Another thing to absolutely look forward to!!! Oh, possibly Kid Rock concert on Nov. 30. Thanksgiving somewhere inbetween.
December, december, is so close! :D Come faster please, O, Month of Pure Awesomeness, snow, party times, and friends! Can't wait for Christmas!! :D
Hmm... you might actually say that this entry was just about as pointless as the month of November. Oh well. Updates are muy importante and so far I haven't been earning too many brownie points for them.
Till next time, brave adventurers!
I don't like the rain that much, especially if it falls as often as it does here in London. Today, for example, is a disgusting day... so gloomy and wet. It's barely 3:30 pm yet it's already getting dark. Daylight savings should have gone the other way around... And while we're on that topic, why don't we make days last 48 hours instead? Work time will stil be 8 hours, but then there will be more opportunities for hanging out and wait, SLEEPING. Yay! That would be so cool :D And that way people will take twice as much to age.. so we'll all be forever young Hooray!
Oh... I think I got excited over something relatively impossible again.
November. Busy month. Lots of work, decisions to be made, projects to be completed, papers to be writ'. Sigh. But hey! It's also Kanye West month... I'll call it KW(ednesday). Sweet. Concert this Wednesday! I can't wait - I feel like dancing so much! And for once, I would like to dance outside the confines of my room ;)
And then Nov. 29 we have Roisin Murphy - who'll go crazy in the Carling Academy in Brixton! Another thing to absolutely look forward to!!! Oh, possibly Kid Rock concert on Nov. 30. Thanksgiving somewhere inbetween.
December, december, is so close! :D Come faster please, O, Month of Pure Awesomeness, snow, party times, and friends! Can't wait for Christmas!! :D
Hmm... you might actually say that this entry was just about as pointless as the month of November. Oh well. Updates are muy importante and so far I haven't been earning too many brownie points for them.
Till next time, brave adventurers!
Sunday, 26 October 2008
8A
*****Just to make it clear: I wrote the entry below while airborne above Europe. It was a fun way to pass the time, and, as promised, I uploaded everything now that I'm back in London.*****
Iliyan wooing *or mooing* the cow
8A
… or 12F, to be more exact. I am sitting in my leather seat aboard an Airbus A320 heading to
The flight was an hour delayed because of a passenger whose luggage was deemed dangerous to the plane’s safety. Paranoia is all over the place. At least now we’re airborne, at 4:30 Bulgarian time, 2:30
I
AM
BORED
ABOARD
THIS AIRCRAFT.
Oh look, it’s like a wannabe Haiku.
Today is a bittersweet day. It is the end of Fall Break. Hence the bitterness of the day. Why is it also sweet… weeeell, I suppose it’s because of the sugar in the apple juice I’m sipping. Or perhaps because of the awesome array of memories and pictures I can now scroll through, commemorating the amazingnessnessness of last week. Let me tell you how it all went down.
Oct. 19
Left London really early in the morning… at 5:30a.m. I was out of my cozy apartment and into the dark, wild streets of Kensington. My goal was to get to the N9 night bus which goes directly to Heathrow terminal 5.
**Turbulence is shaking up my juice!**
Well, after about 30 mins of wandering around and taking random buses, I finally got to an N9 stop. The trusty sign said the bus would be there at 6:06 a.m. Great, that would get me to the airport at around 7:06 and my flight was at 8:30 – perfection. Only problem was, the bus didn’t come at the assigned time. So I panicked slightly. The next bus was supposed to come 40 minutes later which would ultimately make me miss my flight. Thankfully, 10 minutes later the N9 came after all. I got on, got to the airport on time, had a super quick breakfast thingy, and flew off to the magical
Mom and Dad greeted me at the airport, bringing the two elders with them: Grandpa and Rex J
**Oh hot damn, this is my jam, keep me partying to the a.m. … in the a-yer**
We all went home where we had the traditional welcome-home lunch. Mmmmm, roast lamb and all that jazz. What followed was sleep. Sleep that I had needed for oh so long! Beauty sleep :P And chillaxin’. I was happy to be home in my room where I can dance around all night without much concern for any neighbors! :D Yep, I started dancing in the a.m. feeling happy as ever. I was full of energy after my afternoon nap and was already thinking about the following day when the excitement would be at its best.
Oct. 20
I’d been waiting for that day for so long! You know how I’m very keen on surprising people and being utterly random? Hehe, I got the perfect chance to do all of these. That was the day when Kety, one of my friends from my internship, had a birthday! Actually, that was the main reason why I decided to go back home for Fall Break instead of hitting the slopes and roads of a different country.
**We are now flying above the awe-inspiring
I had tried really hard to keep my arrival a secret from everyone but my parents because I wanted to surprise Kety for her special day. I went to the LB office in the afternoon, my heart pounding with joy and excitement. The door opened and I entered the office where all my dear friends were working hard (or finishing up the work day). And hooray, I was so psyched to see them all again!! And indeed my secret arrival was surprising J It was so much fun seeing everyone’s expressions of astonishment. I was experiencing full-on bliss. And then I saw Kety and wished her a happy birthday – the moment was priceless :D Of course I had technically extended a cordial invitation to myself for her party, so as soon as work was over, Kety, Nina, Geri, Iliyan and I drove down to Olive’s bar in downtown
All in all, October 20 was a day to remember! It totally made my break!!
The rest of the break was dedicated to spending time with my parents and only 1-2 people other than my internship pals… Laziness was upon me with full force. All my plans to be somewhat productive fell apart the moment that plane landed in
Now, I didn’t even get to feel the days as they went by so fast! Before I knew it, it was Friday! But guess what, that’s when the other super fun part of break began!
Oct. 24
For a few days I’d been trying to get some people together for a BBQ party at our mountain house. It wasn’t until late Thursday evening when the plan was finalized and we had 100% certainty that we’d all spend part of the weekend away from
We arrived in Rayovo around 10:30 p.m., everyone starving and ready to get to the grubbin’.
**Ew, two kids are running around the aisle in the plane. My maternal instinct tells me to trip them! Too bad I’m not in an aisle seat… **
Iliyan and Petya were the firestarters (and BBQ-ers), Jass and Ket were responsible for the salad and other gourmet plateaus, Kossio was a boy for all purposes lol, and I was roaming around and seasoning steaks at the same time ;) Perfect organization, flawless execution. Radio 1 in the background…
As the grilled meats sizzled outside, everyone’s patience started slipping away and before we knew it, the table was all set and we all sat down and began a glorious hogging fest :) We ate and ate and ate and ate… we laughed, we sang, we snoozed, we ate. And ate some more. Did I mention we had tons of food?? It was gewd. We played some games whose goal I shall not reveal cause one of those days you’d be surprised… but I guess it would be loosely translated into English as “ML(hs)N” (oh looks like a scientific formula or something)
It was all quite entertaining :D And then at one point we all felt like sleeping. Good night…
Oct. 25
**We’re above northern
We started the day off with Team Pancakes. Slurp. We ate as if we hadn’t stuffed ourselves to oblivion the night before! It was still delicious :) And then we thought we’d had way too much to eat and simply HAD to go for a little walk by the river, with the main goal of giving Rex a bath (which failed miserably). Our walk was the Walk of Awesomeness. It was good that we didn’t run into many villagers, for they would have thought that we’re a bunch of lyo-lyo’s (ie crazy people).
Iliyan tried to communicate with cows (or bulls, as it turned out). Jassena almost fell into a well (a shallow one with no water but still), Rex carried a huge rock in his mouth, and the rest of just were being plain weird, as we always are :) We re-enacted TV commercials and band shots, we danced Bulgarian national dances (for about 3 secs), and did a whole bunch of other funny things. The walk was cut short because the puppy got tired. Oh, and we saw the craziest little tractor driver ever! He zoomed past us at 60km/h at least, smoking up the road, and sounding as if it was going to fall apart any moment now. Extreme!
Back at the house, we played a thrilling game of Monopoly where everyone owned quarters and houses, bargained around with properties, and was in particularly good relationships with the bank. Before we played, we had food. While we were battling for gameboard supremacy, we had more food. And, imagine that, we stopped playing at around 5pm to eat dinner! :D Our stomachs stretched out to the max. But it was all heavenly.
It was time for us to leave. Sadly. We had to be in
BBQ-ing
Loop-ing :)
Iliyan wooing *or mooing* the cow
Oct. 26
Family lunch! And then this flight.
I loved Fall Break! I would have loved it even more if it had lasted longer! But for what it was, it was absolutely amazing! I couldn’t have asked for more.
THANKS TO EVERYONE! LOVE YOU ALL! <3>
**and now my battery has 7% life left, so I have to go back to being bored on board of the plane for one more hour…**
Monday, 6 October 2008
A Few More Weeks...
In about 2 weeks our midterm break comes. AMAZING! I can't believe it!!! It's going to be fun non-school time, finally!
To compensate for that, though, the last two weeks of school are extra packed with work and projects. Go figure. I have to do layout for brochures, contact relatively famous people for a photography project, write several papers, and take a few midterms. Hooray!
I still have all the energy in the world, yet I seem to be lacking a little thing called... time. Yeah. Time flies. Especially this semester. A minute's here, the next moment it's gone... and then an hour has passed... and then a day. It's ridiculous. But what can we do, there's no escaping the man-made confines of a 24-hour day. Approximately 4 of those hours are allocated to sleep.
I don't have too many stories to tell. :( It's sad really. I am doing office hours right now at the Student Union office and the main reason why I decided to write a blog entry is cause I love the sound of this keyboard!! No, that's NOT an absolutely random and irrelevant reason to post this blog!!!
I registered for Spring 2009 now. I have all my classes for next term... all I have to do now is keep up my GPA and keep my scholarship so that I can actually continue my education. No biggie. Haha.
Okay, I'll actually be gone now since my office hours are over and I have to head back home for dinner. Love you all, and I will keep posting the most random blog entries when I have the time. PS: Happy birthday to anyone who happens to read this blog today (and who happens to have a bday today of course)
To compensate for that, though, the last two weeks of school are extra packed with work and projects. Go figure. I have to do layout for brochures, contact relatively famous people for a photography project, write several papers, and take a few midterms. Hooray!
I still have all the energy in the world, yet I seem to be lacking a little thing called... time. Yeah. Time flies. Especially this semester. A minute's here, the next moment it's gone... and then an hour has passed... and then a day. It's ridiculous. But what can we do, there's no escaping the man-made confines of a 24-hour day. Approximately 4 of those hours are allocated to sleep.
I don't have too many stories to tell. :( It's sad really. I am doing office hours right now at the Student Union office and the main reason why I decided to write a blog entry is cause I love the sound of this keyboard!! No, that's NOT an absolutely random and irrelevant reason to post this blog!!!
I registered for Spring 2009 now. I have all my classes for next term... all I have to do now is keep up my GPA and keep my scholarship so that I can actually continue my education. No biggie. Haha.
Okay, I'll actually be gone now since my office hours are over and I have to head back home for dinner. Love you all, and I will keep posting the most random blog entries when I have the time. PS: Happy birthday to anyone who happens to read this blog today (and who happens to have a bday today of course)
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