i got so terribly edgy about vilnius poker that i shut it down loudly, left the room, shut the door behind me and ranted endlessly on how it is either the author, either the character cuckoo, but i can’t tell. how i’ve read sixty pages and grew inpatient with every one of them because the book is unbearably  repetitive.

the phrase is beautifully crafted and it has been the sole reason why i have advanced as far as sixty pages.

after reading this review, and after i allow us few more days of rest, i will return to reading the book. might turn into a love-hate relationship. the novel appeals to me, but once we’re close, our claws are out.

on the black book of communism, fifty pages on and the books just starts. a very interesting read.

And Because Today is Balentines

Spent some time out. Cyprus is in bloom.

and while i’m at the chapter of rather wanting a car than world peace these days, and because i tend to be resistless attracted by muscle cars, more often vintage ones, i just spent internet time browsing Chip Foose latest work.

The Camaro in the photo is one of his pieces of work.

I was having a conversation about the new Dodge Charger these days. And then, browsing The Rumpus (feeding the literary self) I find a spoof of the official commercial for the Dodge.

Here they are. I found them both to be funny. Apparently, the creators of the spoof found the original one to be offensive.

The original commercial:

And the spoof:

some day

headed yesterday to troodos even if the pistes are not officially open. there is snow. took some photos. took some photos because i couldn’t snowboard. the snow doesn’t properly cover the stones.

but not about this i want to talk about, but about bad luck.

the morning didn’t start very well. the house was cold (even if there is central heating), a kid was shouting and the building site across the street was noisy above any acceptable level.

after coffee i packed myself up and hit the road for troodos. the slopes were closed and no one was skiing or snowboarding, i would have climbed the hills for few short descents. but alone in the forest, in winter, even so close to the main road didn’t look appealing.

on my way back the problems started. 7 km away from the nearest village, one tire  exploded. never bee in this situation, let alone by myself.

pulled over, realized that my phone’s battery is completely empty so i thought i shouldn’t be far from the village. why not try and drive like this.

first is the noise, then is the burned tire smell and the shaking wheel. and the growing fear that somehow the car will fall apart.

after 2 km (smoke from my left exploded tire) i pull over again and check the option of fitting the spare tire.little did i know that, even if i had the proper lifting installation, i would have never been able to unscrew the wheel.

after 10-15 min of balancing my options:

- can’t change it myself as one piece is missing from that thing that lifts the car

- can’t call anyone as my phone is dead

- can’t stop anyone as i am literally in the middle of the forest and the traffic is low at the hour. plus, on the island, being a rather fair skin, blonde foreigner appeals to the local men in a very unorthodox manner. too risky.

so i decide to slowly drive to the nearest town and search for help. and so i did, with my warning lights on, 10 km per hour, pretty scared that the axe that holds the wheels will break for good.

and when i saw the village i stopped on the outskirts and walked looking for help. to realize i’m still 2 km from the village and i have stopped near 2 restaurants.

first 2 men i found i asked for help. a taxi driver. with the apologies i ask in advance to this gentleman who changed my wheel (with his own jack as mine was not usable), taxi drivers are the worst kind of men on the island when it comes to picking on foreigners bearing my description.

but this one did help me for nothing and i got to use my knowledge of greek as his of english was of no help for any of us.

all seemed fine until we realized, after fitting, that the wight of the car flattens the spare wheel.

drove in stress for 2-3 km (a flat tire can become a  not-anymore-a-tire in a matter of minutes) and found a gas station and filled it with air. little did i know that the spare wheel has no adherence at all. so my car refused to climb a very steep slope covered with dust. i had to stop and climb it with first gear and attracting all the attention because the left tire was sliding and making terrible noise. i was still in the village.

my luck changed while on my way home. i saw a pile of tires on the left hand side and the first occasion, i turned my car and asked the guys (signs and greek) if they have a tire for me.

they only charged my 20 euros for the job + tire (second hand, better than what i’ve had anyway).

i made i to town with no problems.

culinary trip with a bit of snowboard

been to bansko on holiday. we started planning for austria, but the expenses kept piling up and we switched to bulgaria.

a very good decision. all of us agreed that it was a success. the slopes were in good condition and the weather was favorable. it even snowed one night to find the second day sunny weather with fresh snow. the accommodation is cheap, very warm and clean, neighboring the gondola, whilst the lifts look pretty new and all were working smoothly without being crowded (except the gondola in the morning).

i find out that my fear that i forgot how to ride is, as every year, ill-founded. but, while the basics turns are still with me, what i completely lacked was fitness. an aspect that decreased the joy substantially.

we ate at the restaurant every day at least once. i can safely say that eating became the undeclared purpose of the trip. not even once we’ve been disappointed and we actually looked forward for the early dinner. food is incredibly affordable in bansko.

a minus was the wine, even though i insisted in always ordering wine when it became clear that it is not their strong point. last day one of us ordered some grape brandy and i wished i knew about it earlier. the local beer also deserves just a try.

my camera was used at the minimum. there was always something better to do than documenting the trip.

we even went ice skating the ring was in front of our hotel. again, a very western-like facility for a developing country. roces skates for renting, sharpened upon request, ice shined regularly, uncrowded.

the ski rental store was lovely and again, cheap like nothing. not all of us had equipment. i would enter there for any request. clean my board / wax it / replace cuffs on both bindings (two broke second or third day). when they would inevitably see me on my way to the gondola lift, they would take the chance to ensure that they did a good job and that i am satisfied.

came home with a pot for cooking stuffed veggies and other foods.

French, no Snow and Small Life

Few aspects that dominate my current life.

The most important one,  it didn’t snow in Troodos this winter.

I receive French tunes from a friend who, I guess, doesn’t speak french. Probably the melody of the language itself suffices. Seen Banlieue 13 – Ultimatum. And I will soon engage in a conversation about Luc Besson and Leon.

Put up a ridiculous studio in my living room where I shoot pretty little things. This bull was attached to an Argentinian white wine. Plus dried plants and an ikea green box. White wine should not be about bulls, though. Red is a better suit.

those useless management schools

our current society is unnaturally growing managers. management schools. while understandable that a person who took time to specialize in an area could use, later in his career, in order to polish his leader skills, management training courses, before actually jumping into the pool of managing other’s people work (that work that he himself is performing at an outstanding level), i can’t fit in the management universities. they take teenagers out of the high-school, who know nothing about any job and teaches them to become managers of other people’s work. utterly bullshit.

in one of the previous companies i worked, ‘it shows good on the cv’ was regarded as a good-enough reason to attend courses. managers would recommend useless training sessions with this line.

they are just a waste of time and a reason for our training department to exist  (a team of youngsters that learned at school how to teach others to communicate, in this case; bullshit again).

woke up this sunday morning with my coffee and fortune magazine. they have these running articles about the fortuned ones. there is the 40 under 40 article. 40 people that made it and are under 40 years of age. they are people that built something useful. skilled in a particular area and put it at use (and is not management).

possibly influenced by the current economic downturn as well, as i tend to blame the overpaid, under-qualified leaders that reached those positions by attending an mba.

2009

another public holiday. i could get used with this schedule. another day in the park, working on my websites, checking new camera settings.

i’ve had a good year, even though i moved apartments twice an had to deal with my past.

the start was very lonely and i wouldn’t have need it any-other way. moved to a new city, new job, no friends. plenty of time for myself. snowboarding every weekend and public holiday.

then summer came. the long, cyprus summer. few trips to the beach in the weekends but again, mostly home, reading and relaxing. work kept me busy and i didn’t allow myself to think about the implications it can have. it worked for me and it was what i needed at the time. to keep me from drowning into my past. at times i feared that this feeling of well being might hide a storm. but no tempest hit me.

some things did not change. involvement in my professional life cannot hide the longing for outdoors, for a life in a french winery or on swiss snowy slopes.

i’m drinking more [red] wine and slowly getting better at recognizing varieties.

my taste in books has switched.  historical, biographies, analysis are far more appealing than fiction. though i read less overall.

put up photography sites of which i grew very attached.

kept my literary site against a short self-doubt period. a good decission.

learned two new recipes.

developed an insatiable interest in newspapers and magazines. the economist, on paper, every saturday. guardian for a while, time occasionally. fortune, online, every sunday morning. didn’t restrict myself to the two cheap gossip magazines i follow online. not to mention here.

didn’t see my cat since february.

Merry Christmas

Chateau Haut-Florin: Red Dry

Stocked for the holidays a Bulgarian Merlot and a Sangre del Toro. Also and Argentinian white.

Just indulged myself, after three overloaded days at work, in the last glass of the French Chateau Haut-Florin Bordeaux.

Difficult wine. Stern.