Take a deep breath (a long one)

Part 1: A fine balance

"Don't you feel nervous today? You must be!"

My neighbour & colleague said to me on Monday, as we were driving to work. It was my first day of work after a two-and-a-half-week long holiday.

"No, not at all." I answered back. Partly because I wasn't going to tell her that every time I thought of work I got the chills and partly because I really was feeling relaxed.

Edinburgh always has an amazing effect on me. I have now decided that Scotland is a state of mind and I will do my best not to let it fade away. These past two days I have been much calmer at work (to the point that my colleagues started discussing about Edinburgh and its wonders). A colleague of mine even noticed that my shoulders were not as tense as before the holidays :) I don't know for how long this is going to last, but I somehow think that if I can recall the peace of mind that reigned over me while I was up north, nothing can go wrong.

Those of you who put up with me last year during my master's know that I can freak out really badly. But this time I won't let it happen.  I have taken T's advice seriously and I now leave work-related issues at work ("Hun, we're not paid to take them home!"). I also make sure I go rolling every day and read at least 20 pages from a nice book. I am currently reading 44 Scotland Street, which is set in Edinburgh (and it helps me preserve my state of mind). This book is to be followed by other books from the same series and A fine balance - thanks to M. for that. I also became a big fun of Bill Bryson (thanks M. and J.). I find him extremely funny! So there you go, this is my recipe for a more relaxed life. The only problem is the only way for me to relax is to go to Scotland, I might go bankrupt pretty soon! :)

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Part 2: O Petrih in Pitrih (a Slovene intermezzo)

O tem sem že dolgo nameravala pisati, a sem vedno odlašala...dokler ni bila mera polna (to se je zgodilo danes)! Tema je tako žalostno-zanimiva, da bi si zaslužila veliko daljšo objavo, ker pa sem si zaobljubila, da se ne bom obremenjevala z negativnimi čustvi, bom vsemu skupaj namenila le nekaj vrstic. Le toliko kolikor je dovolj, da povem, kako zajeban je včasih Trst.

Zakaj mora v Trstu

Peter Štrukelj postati Piter Strucheli
Klavdija Cah            Claudia Ca (beri po italijansko)
Jan Vodopivec         Gian Vodopivec (" ---")
Helena Švagelj        Elena Svagheli
Marija Krapež         Maria Crapesi???

Še dolgo bi lahko naštevala. Takih primerov je v službi neskončno. In ja, vsakič, ko slišim kako tako popačenko me zmrazi. Najprej iz ideoloških razlogov in nato tudi zato, ker me pretvarjanje iz "Cah" v "Ca" (beri: Ka) stane preveč mentalnega napora
Mama pravi, da so to dvoživke, jaz zdaj že mislim, da so to kreteni. Pa ne da se mi vse skupaj zdi čudno. Če teh ljudi starši niso naučili svojega materinega jezika in če so se oni sami sramovali lastnega porekla, potem res ni čudno, da so Petri postali Pitri. Kaj pa vem, mogoče bi bilo tudi mene sram. Ampak ne zato, ker bi moj priimek zvenel "čudno", pač pa zato, ker ne bi poznala jezika in kulture svojih staršev.
Mojega nonota so med fašizmom iz Miroslava Č. preimenovali v Emilia C. in nato še v Federica (vedno s C-jem brez strešice). Moj oče se je moral za našo strešico prebiti skozi dolga leta čakanja in cele kupe papirja.
Zato sem jaz Dana Č. Za prijatelje, znance in tudi za kolege. In to z velikim Č-jem. Res sem morala najprej vsem na dolgo in široko razlagati, zakaj je tako, ampak na koncu so le razumeli. Zanimivo je, da se je kolegica in prijateljica, ki je na pol Angležinja na pol Sicilijanka, naučila pravilno izgovorjati moj priimek veliko preden bi se tega naučili zarukani Tržačani.

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 Part 3: Addictions

I have been thinking of replacing my silly phone with a smart one...although I am not sure I really want to. The video explains it all.


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Part 4: Butterflies

He: "Have you noticed that people nowadays take pictures of everything?! You need to take pictures - and publish them on Facebook - to show people that you exist. No pictures - no life."

She: "Hmmm...does that mean that you and I don't exist?"

His smile needed no explanation. Neither did mine.