the closest thing to magic

I had my first training session in moving things through thought-power. It's all scientific!

That's how it works:

First, my friend the neuropsychologist pluggs my brain to a machine while I'm thinking of certain hand movements. After 30 min. of rigorous thoughts-workout the machine has figured out the patterns in which my brain imagines these moves. Then it's my turn to train speed and strength of imagination - the goal is to reach and hold the maximum level of activation the computer has measured.

The screen in front of me shows a hand and a glass. I have to stay motionless - no blinking, no swallowing. At first, nothing happens. Then, suddenly, fueled by my thoughts, the hand on the screen starts to move, approach the glass, and take it. The better I imagine the movements, the closer I get to the glass; after a while the hand grabs the glass in a split-second.

In the end I feel like I heaved a crate of beer with my brain - without lifting a finger... Now if that isn't magic...

to whom it may concern...

Thoughts from this morning's walk to university:
I'm thinking that I don't like to see chocolate-Santas sold in the middle of October.
I think that I like how the old guitar-playing cowboy in the city looks at me every morning with this knowing smile, without knowing me. I like to smile back.
I think that I should discipline myself to look the beggars in the eye.
I'm thinking about how I live my life: being thrown into the unknown by an astonishing security net, making it more solid every time I fall back. So the trick is the jumping!, I grin and I walk past a ticket shop...
Un ballo in maschera, I'm thinking about me in a black dress, gold, velvet, an orchestra, and then I remember two black and silver masks, the Night, a crazy Frenchman, an asylum, glittery stars and a crazy croud.


Then I think of Victor and Ingmar, who kept me busy one year ago - this year it was Otto... I remember being undetermined whether I should be homesick or not. Approximately one year ago I was cooking a huge pot of pumpkin soup that would change my life.

A potage might be a strange symbol for this past year, but that's just what it has been: warm, rich and very filling. Thanks to all the responsibles, but especially to the one who added the piri-piri.

huh?!

Some spammer added a comment/article to my post about my hometown Graz, telling me all the things I did already know about the city (and some of them I had already written). But here comes the funny bit: after mentioning the "excellent connection of Graz to Vienna Airport" (3 hours, haha!), the article says:

Graz is also noted for its excellent transport planning policies which have ensured the city benefits from efficient public transport, low levels of congestion and good environmental conditions.

Right under this - how should I call it? wishful thinking? - comes a picture of the inner city, drowned in smog.

I really don't know if this guy and me are talking about the same city. But you never know, maybe some things have changed in my absence?

Ah, I'm really looking forward to coming back...

the march of the emperor

This is one of the most amazing (!) documentaries I have ever seen: March of the Emperor (La marche de l'empereur) . You can watch it here for free (bad sound, though, I'm sorry...)

Wikipedia tells me that the peguins started their journey around a month ago (90 kilometres to walk, for them that's approximately 40 days and more) to get to their breeding place. About now, they should have found their partners and mate. The girls will lay their eggs and walk back to the sea to find some food. The guys will have to wait for them with an egg between their feet, no food for more than 3 months, and additionally withstanding lethal windstorms and temperatures from -60° to -70° C...

This is why the Arctic explorer Cherry-Garrard said:

"Take it all in all, I do not believe anybody on Earth has a worse time than an Emperor penguin."

Oh - and you should definitely watch the following ad :D *lol*

being selfish

Now that the cold season is definitely over, I have to get myself used to people again. Spent most of the weekend in Copenhagen, being completely knocked out by the masses of bodies moving everywhere around me. Lund is such a cosy little place, I'm simply not used to having strangers stepping on my feet and breathing on my neck anymore. Not that I ever really did... Anyway, you know what I mean, don't you...

The result was that I spend 4 days longing for my bed from 10 in the morning; pathetic.
As always, Yoga did the trick.

I just burped out another depressing assignment on the terrorist's mind; very intellectual and too philosophical as usual, and - worst and much to the despair of my teachers - I do mean my idealist ideas...

Now I'm free to relax into my monday-evening-occupation: running my fingers through some luxurious, deliciously soft Alpaca wool and transforming it into a gorgeous, extra-light and extra-warm cardigan just for me-me-me! After all the work for everybody else (pullovers, bears and countless mittens for the shop) I feel like I want to start wrapping myself in handmade purls and stitches.

Yay, call me grandma.

Ŝtrumpetoj malaperis!

Imagu, amikoj, loĝi en loko (apartamento, fakte) kie ĉiom da viaj vestoj malaperas ĉiom da tempo!

Hieraŭ, plia paro da miaj ŝtrumpetoj malaperis!
Tiuj estis belaj ŝtrumpetoj!
Estis tre belaj, purpuraj ŝtrumpetoj!
Fakte, estis la plej belaj ŝtrumpetoj en la tuta mondo!
Kaj nun, neniam mi povos porti ilin!

La knabinoj ambaŭ diras ke ili ne estas ŝtelistoj, sed mi trovas ke iliaj visaĝoj aspektas tre strange. Tro strange, fakte. Tial mi aktivigos mian esplorpovon kaj solvos la misteron! Estis unu paro de ŝtrumpetoj tro multa!

parsva bakasana!

Uncork the champagne!

Usually it's when you stop forcing them that things finally happen. That's what I have to keep telling myself whenever I practice the more challenging poses: stay playful and just try, but do give your very best.
So, when I suddenly felt my feet up in the air and my knee perfectly balanced on my arms this morning, I felt like... mmmh... I have tried parsva bakasana many times before, just to avoid the humiliation the next time I try to carry a beer crate up the stairs. And all these times, I remained clueless about how my crow should actually take off... I could do a crow, but a side crow requires even more strength, it seemed.

This is a beautiful pose. A wise person writes that it unites surrender and strength; and, well, he's right. It's everything; a nice twist for the lower back, a balancing pose, a tremendous strengthener for the torso, and a lot of fun because your body is in a totally unusual position - prepare to be startled...
You basically squeeze everything you have (legs together, knees to belly, feet to butt), you pull, you push, and when you feel like a muscular ball under high voltage, you simply lean forward - you trespass the point on which you fear that you might crash-land on your nose - and give yourself to gravity. Tada! And now the cherry on top: breath deeply.

white!

How come people are always surprised by the weather?

How come Swedish people are surprised by the cold?
How come they are surprised by snow?

I just don't get it - we had 30 cm of snow yesterday (and a storm that almost blew our house away) and in the bus this was discussed so excitedly as if we were all living in the Sahara and snow was something totally alien...

And a strange Swedish lady advised as not to be stupid and stop those dangerous snow-fights at once! Who would have guessed that these balls of fresh, fluffy cold material can turn out to be lethal weapons?

clever ways to save money, part 1

Haha, so the friendly cosmetic surgeon asked me to remove the pictures that I had posted here a few weeks ago, because (see comments...) of my violation of his patient's privacy. This makes sense to me, since the photos of the lady are really really well hidden from the public sphere on his website... And I'm no criminal, so I'll undo my mistake and just put links.

Even if this man has done a wonderful job and you can't actually make out the tiniest evidence of his surgeon's knives even coming near her face, I'm a bit sceptical... I wonder if buying the same look (or a even worse one) for at least 1000€ isn't a bit expensive? So, people, even if the idea of transferring the fat from you behind into your cheeks and lips, or having holes cut into your eyelids, or getting your nose broken sounds oh-so-tempting - don't do it. But feel free to check the pictures of all the poor creatures who didn't get the warning in time - it's a lot of fun...

And here comes the lady who's privacy I hope I could now avoid violating (don't be shocked by the unbelievable non-alikeness, it IS the same person!)

Before After

P.S.: Dear mister surgeon, I'm sorry I am such a hopeless case. Maybe consider including this in your repertoire for people like me.

where Downward Facing Dog is man's best friend...

Those of you who know me a little bit better, know it's pretty hard to stop me once I start jabbling about my N°1 passion. Yes, I am a citizen of the land of crows, downward and upward facing dogs, warriors, swans and other strange creatures...

But aside from poses with complicated names that make you look like a pretzel, even the simplest Yoga pose can have astonishing effects on your physical and mental condition. You can do it to gain strength, loose weight, relief pain, get really sweaty, encrease your respiratory volume, health, contentment or whatever other physical or psychological goal you may have. But the beauty of Yoga is, that here - for once - there's nothing to achieve in reality. You don't do it to be able to bite your toe-nails (unless you enjoy the taste). You do it for the sake of what it is - the joy of being alive.

So, if you want to give it a try: here's two podcasts I discovered a few months ago and which I find wonderful:

• YogAmazing: Rather short classes (approx. 20 min.) with a very passionate and sympathic teacher. I'd recommend it to beginners who have never tried Yoga before. Technical basics are well-taught, as well as psychological and philosophical approach.

• YogaToday: A long class (1h) every day. 3 different teachers, a lot of different styles, but the focus is always on the meditation in movement. Classes can get very vigorous - at least I sweat all the time - so to focus on security and your own limits is very important. In my eyes, the technical aspects are taught in a fantastic way; which gives you a bigger inview on how your body works, and enables you to move deeply into each pose. And you'll learn how to integrate what you learn on the mat into your everyday life (movements, actions, thoughts).

i am from austria

I'll make the attempt to introduce you all to my hometown Graz in just one post. So it's going to be rather sketchy...

To start with, it's very simple: Graz is a town with a river and a kind of mountain in the middle. Napoleon has destroyed the old fortress on top of it except for some buildings, but only after the people from Graz had paid him dearly to spare them...

Climbing up that hill or mountain, you'll soon discover one of Graz' characteristics: the beautiful roofs (I stole the following picture...)

Graz is the capital of a department called Styria, also known as Austria's Green Heart (which is a bit stupid if you consider that basically all of Austria is green, most of the time...). Styria's emblem is something they call a "panther", but I'm not so sure what this poor beast is supposed to be in reality... Whatever, it's green and white and has a beautiful crown and dangerous claws. Once it even spit flames from its ass. Then somebody decided that this was definitely going too far and extinguished the creature's undecent fire. And now... ah... just have a look:

Now it's getting a bit more complicated. After having defeated the plague and the Ottoman army for good at the end of the 17th century, entire Austria was of course super-relieved and in the mood to show off their newly gained prosperity. Plus, Catholic church had made short work of Reformation - now clergy and aristrocracy suddenly recognized that they had the same interests. So they employed a lot of artists to make some publicity for them and to leave no doubt in the population that they were strong and had too much money. The results are beautiful and imposant (that's why they're mostly very golden).
Saint Sebastian and Saint Jacob under a Plague Column:

Personally, what I like most about Graz are its beautiful, cosy yards. You can always discover new ones (especially when you study art history and you know someone who knows someone who knows somebody who has got the keys...). As I'm a snoopy person, just randomly walking through an open door leading to the unknown is exactly my kind of hobby...

Austrian "Hausmeister" (concierges) and landlords love to leave their mark, like dogs, in form of little signs which tell you that what you are doing is on the edge of legality, even if it's just "going through", or "sightseeing"...


Usually, the beautiful yards have unimpressive doors, and vice-versa...


Some of our vices: smoking (Austria Tabak), drinking (Puntigamer Bier), Eating (red lobster in the background; sign of a restaurant), lotto...

Restaurants usually have nice names, like the "Golden Pastry" below.

Some years back, a new tradition was introduced to Graz: a huge Nativity Scene sculpted of ice blocks and displayed in a popular big courtyard in the center. Usually, the sculptures don't survive the first week of Advent; it's too warm...

Yep, of course we are affected by global warming too! But the population of Graz isn't very eager to help changing anything about the problem. They seem to be tied to their cars (the smaller the human, the bigger the car, I guess), preferring to spend 1 hour in the traffic jam than to just hop into the bus, the tram, or on their bikes and be there in 20 minutes. The results are really bad air and a lot of allergies and lung-problems - high life for doctors!

There are a lot of beggars too, many of them from Slovakia because they're not allowed to work in Vienna. See how xenophile we are?!

Seems like the perfect place to "Make Change Happen", hm?

(re)treat!

Phew, it was really about time that all this working should stop... I treated myself with this beauty on Monday, right after my - almost - final exam and right before falling almost drop dead into my bed. I know, I should probably have waited until I get my results, but God knows that bureaucratic mills grind slowly... Also, my beautiful onyx will remind me that, girl, YOU CAN WORK!!!

(Even if this: only attests me a quite low nerd score...)

And this evening, the learning will be proceeded on another level: I have my first Esperanto-class, thanks to Oleg, and I'm soooooooo excited. You know I love words.

Did I mention that Beta.Blogger is superb?! Look at all the nice labels I can pin to my posts! (And all the other things I can do, which you can't see, unfortunately - just know that I can make my whole blog undergo a complete metamorphosis in just one finger-click. Good to know that some things still work like that. Magnificent. Yeahyeahyeah, I'll stop it...)

update

Winter has now become a fact here in Lund. The first snow arrived punctually on November 1st, together with a huge bill for the dentist (85 € for one little filling that had fallen out of my tooth, can you believe it?). Also, our concierge had mercy on us and turned on the radiators. Mh, it's a good feeling to go to bed without dressing like an explorer of the Arctic first (socks, scarf, pull-over, long pants)... And while I'm typing this, I'm drying my toes on the radiator - because now, the snow has gone and true winter has begun and that means: RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! Hihi, but I still don't regret being here (did I mention that it's dark at half past four?)...

I'm a bit disappointed that my camera was not able to capture the snow-storm on November 1st, so please just believe me that we have been close to the end of the world.

Last Saturday I went to the first Halloween-party of my life! Usually I hate dressing up, but I thought that I could make an exception. The party took place in a student corridor, St. Lars, which used to be a psychiatric clinic - and that's just what it still looks and feels like! White walls, huge cold rooms, barred windows, long sad corridors. Perfect for Halloween!

And most people actually had made an effort to dress up as something unusual.

I was The Night, which is easy, because all that you need is a lot of black (black gown, black mask), glitter and stars everywhere (eyes, hair, skin...). But I prepared a little bag filled with surprises (nightmares, black cats, sweet dreams, shooting stars...) people could pick.

I also had the opportunity to do some gender and cultural studies: people, especially men, don't like masks. But while they show respect to a male stranger hiding behind a mask, they think they can do whatever they want to reveal a disguised woman's identity. Conclusion: fix your masks firmly, girls! Pay attention to the hands coming out of nowhere! Don't hesitate to sacrifice your drink or other appropriate items to defend yourself!

Master and Slave at St. Lars' Halloween

Next day I was at the manifestation against climate change. It was all very Swedish: short, unexcited, everything well-scheduled. At least we all got cold enough to warm up with coffee, tea and delicious home-made cake made by the lovely old ladies at Theo's place.

Learn from the Swedes:
5° are still no reason for drinking your coffee inside!

pachyderms

I dream strange dreams these days:

Yesterday I travelled inside a huge building, with busses and tramways driving along the corridors and there were time tables too...

Today I dreamt I was on my way in a muddy landscape to meet a friend by the sea. I come to a little hill rising in front of me with hundreds of vultures sitting there or flying around it. They eat people who are hurt and bleeding and I see that some of the birds even miss a leg that the others have eaten. I'm not really scared, but I'm not crazy either, so I go back.

Suddenly I see two baby elephants lying in the mud and playing. I stop, amazed and happy, because I have never seen any elephants of course (and no vultures too...). Their mother appears and I know she's probably going to think that I want to harm her children, so I run away. As I turn around, one of the little elephants showers my back - I feel warm water running down my spine.

I consider that I could maybe calmly explain myself to the elephant-mother, so there's no need to run away. I don't really know what to tell her, but I simply want to be in their presence.

I meet her in a dingy bathroom (I think it is even in the house I travelled in yesterday?). Her eyelashes make the air on my right cheek swirl. I see her huge head next to me reflected in the mirror, the trunk gently swinging above the sink, the warm and wrinkly skin of her left shoulder close to mine. I don't dare to touch her and I don't think she would like it. We don't talk, we are just standing side by side.

And suddenly I am sitting in a train and I see the sundown on the northern sea through its dirty windows. I hold my face out the window. I know I'm going to meet my friend.

say: "ayashpise"

jessassna, de is jo gonz zaschossn!

Einer guten alten Tradition folgend, die der Herr H. ins Leben gerufen hat, habe auch ich meine Eierspeis heute fotografiert und stelle die Ergebnisse ins Netz.
Damit das jetzt nicht allzu uninteressant wird - ich war heute außer Haus. Ja, da draußen in der großen weiten Welt!!! Bin bis zum Supermarkt gekommen (wo ich für Dava und mich Essen erlegt habe). Was für eine Aufregung. Muss wieder schlafen gehn.

***

Following a good old tradition iniciated by Mister H. I took a picture of my food today (Omelette, of course, which we call "Eierspeis" in Austria).
To make this post a bit more informative I'll tell you I went outside today. Yes really, I walked out into the great wide world with people, and dogs, and cars and everything. I got as far as to the supermarket (where I slayed a lot of food for Dava and myself). How exciting, I think I need a nap soon...

38.5° im Schatten

In der Susa ihren Nieren tanzen seit neuestem die Bakterien Samba. Und überhaupt herrscht im ganzen Susa-Körper tropisches Klima.

Weil aber die Bakterien keinerlei Aufenthaltsgenehmigung vorweisen können und der Susa mit ihrer ausgelassenen Feier auch ziemlich weh tun, hat die Susa sich mit einem antibiotischen Sondereinsatzkommando aufgemacht, die Wichte schnellst möglich vor die Tür zu setzen.

Um den Erfolg der Mission zu gewährleisten, wird die Susa ihren Körper die nächsten Tage in den Untiefen ihrer Matratze vergraben. Deswegen wird es hier ein bisschen still werden - die Frau K freut sich aber über Aufmunterung in jeglicher Form! :)

Ein Eintrag nur fuer Valérie

Liebe Valérie,

dieser Eintrag dient ganz allein der Beantwortung deiner vielen Fragen. Ich mache das so öffentlich, weil die Antworten vielleicht auch andere Leser interessieren (die sich nur nicht zu fragen trauen). :)

An alle, die Valérie nicht kennen: das ist jene junge Dame, die mir einen fruehen Tod vorhergesagt hat ("Wenn ich gross bin, bist du schon längst tot!"), von mir Flöten-Unterricht bekommen hat und der es gelingt, in einer Minute 25 und eine halbe Frage auf einmal zu stellen. Wirklich.

Wer sind Sylvia und Ben?

Das wird jetzt ein bisschen kompliziert. Sylvia studiert so wie ich auf der Uni in Graz ("Was?" Psychologie und Molekularbiologie) und jetzt eben in Lund. Sie wohnt in einem grossen Haus ("Wo?" In Bezirk Östratorn ganz im Osten von Lund) und weil das Haus so gross ist, können dort auch noch einige andere Leute wohnen. Und das sind: Ben, Laurent und Carol, die aber noch nicht in Schweden angekommen ist ("Warum?" Weil sie noch in Suedafrika ist, dort ist sie nämlich zuhause).

Woher kommen sie?

Ben kommt aus Deutschland (ich weiss aber nicht genau, aus welcher Stadt) und Sylvia wie gesagt aus Graz. Aber wenn man's ganz genau nimmt, dann ist die Sylvia zur Hälfte aus Schweden (daher kommt ihre Mutter) und zur anderen Hälfte aus Salzburg (daher kommt ihr Vater). Und zum Studieren ist sie nach Graz gezogen ("Warum?" Weil Salzburg blöd ist.)

Wie alt sind sie?

Der Ben ist 26 (oder so) und die Sylvia so alt wie ich (Ha! Jetzt musst du nachrechnen!). Und von den anderen Leuten weiss ich das noch nicht ("Warum?" Weil ich nicht gefragt hab).

Sind sie in einander verliebt?

Auch wenn es auf dem Foto so aussieht: nein. Der Ben hat eine Freundin, von der er die ganze Zeit redet und die er sehr vermisst und die Sylvia hat keinen Freund.

Damit keine Geruechte aufkommen: auf dem Foto ist lediglich zu sehen, wie Ben Sylvia zeigt, wie man im Mittelalter böse Menschen an den Pranger gestellt hat. Sieht ungemuetlich aus, ist es auch.

Wie alt ist der Biblothekar?
Ungefähr 25. Ich hab ihn auch noch nicht gefragt. Kommt glaub ich nicht so gut. Das könnte der Bibliothekar ja auch falsch verstehen.

Wirst Du ihn heiraten?
Nein!!!
(Auch wenn er sehr nett ist.)

Wo sind die anderen Studenten?

In ihren Betten, die meiste Zeit. Auf der Uni, in den vielen Kaffees, beim Einkaufen, auf irgendwelchen Parties, beim Sprachkurs... Oder hast du die Frage anders gemeint?

Wer ist alles auf den Photos von deinem Ausflug abgebildet?
Meinst du diese Fotos?

Das sind alles Studenten, die ich nicht kenne, die aber bei dieser grossen Gruppe dabei waren.

Das ist eine rothaarige schwedische Mama mit ihrem ebenfalls rothaarigen schwedischen Kind, die genau in dem Augenblick die Stufen zum Eingangstor (siehe oberes Bild) hinaufgestiegen ist, in dem ich im zweiten Stock von Glimmingehus aus dem Fenster geschaut habe. Ich habe sie hinterher nicht mehr gesehen (und auch das Kind nicht) und konnte ihr deswegen leider keine weiteren Fragen stellen.

Und das ist Sylvia, die in Glimmingehus in der mittelalterlichen Dusche steht. Was sie grade angreift, ist eine Aufhängung, an der ein grosser Wasserkessel befestigt wurde, den man sich dann ueber den Kopf kippen konnte. Bruagh! Uebrigens sitzt man dabei auf einer der zwei Bänke.

Zimmerrundschau

Heute abend versucht, die kahlen Wände zu beleben. Wird langsam wohnlich hier.

Einmal im Kreis rundherum, beginnend bei der Tuer und dann weiter im Uhrzeigersinn: mein Spiegel, mein Bett, mein Kasten, mein Tisch, mein Regal. Alles klar?

Wie man Susa in Schweden besucht...

Keine Angst im Daten-Dschungel!

Eine kleine Bedienungsanleitung für alle, die im WWW noch nicht ganz zuhause sind und befürchten, sich in seinen Untiefen zu verirren (ich werde keine Namen nennen...):

Die Seite gliedert sich in die Leiste meiner Beiträge (links) und die Leiste mit Schnickschnack (rechts).

Die linke Leiste

• In der linken Leiste könnt ihr nicht viel tun, außer gezwungenermaßen meine Berichte zu lesen und die Bilder zu betrachten. Bilder können durch Anklicken vergrößert werden. Ihr könnt das Gelesene/Betrachtete allerdings kommentieren: ihr klickt dazu auf den kleinen Link unter dem jeweiligen Beitrag, der anzeigt, wieviele Kommentare schon hinterlassen wurden (z.B. "0 comments"). Es öffnet sich ein neues Fenster, wo Text und Name hinterlassen werden können. Vergesst nicht die Wortbestätigung, sonst kann der Kommentar nicht veröffentlicht werden. Das ist lästig, aber nötig (ich erkläre jetzt nicht warum, glaubt es mir einfach...).

Die rechte Leiste (von oben nach unten)

• Wer vergessen hat, wie ich aussehe oder generell das Bedürfnis verspürt, näheres über mich zu erfahren, klickt einfach auf das Foto ganz oben. Es erscheint mein Profil.
• Wer mir eine Mail schicken möchte, klickt auf "schreib mir!"
• Wer sich künstlerisch in meinem Kritzel-Gästebuch verewigen möchte, klickt auf "mal mir ins Gästebuch!"
• Wen Wissensdurst oder Langeweile plagen oder wem Erlebnis-Berichte und Fotos einfach zu wenig sind, empfehle ich die Link-Liste. Einfach durcharbeiten. Sie wird meinem Wissens- und Interessenstand gemäß aktualisiert.
• Die Leiste "aktuelle Posts" versteht sich von selbst...
• Unter "archiv" gelangt man zu den Beiträgen der vergangenen Monate.

Bald geht's los...