| 100 in 1000 |
- Spend a week up a mountain learning to ski
- Visit Karoline's place in Moravia
Hold a conversation in Czech (only)- Drink 500ml of each of the following beers:
PilsnerStaroprammen- Budvar
- Velke Popovice
- U Fleku
GambrinusKrusovice
Respond to at least one GOARN request (WHO and MSF are
also acceptable)Travel across the AtlanticReturn to South America- Read a book to, or with, an impressionably aged child
- Participate in one NanoWriMo Challenge and come within at least 10,000 words of the goal length
Have my nose pierced- Have my next tattoo drawn
Purchase the perfect jeans (x 2 pairs)- Attend a spin class 3 times a week for 8 consecutive weeks
- Bake Viv's cheesecake
Make David's casserole Make David's Chicken Cashew-nut StirfryInvite 4 people who don't know one another too well to dinner- Ride from Vienna to Venice on a motorbike (pillion acceptable, those less desirable)
- Attend a book group for at least two books
- Go on a choir weekend (learn and perform difficult piece in two/three days)
- Visit Madame Tussaud's (in London)
- Take an architecture appreciation course
Join an all-girl group and sing a soloPublish in a scientific journal (top two authors)Cook a duck or other 'waterfowl'. Locate the Al-Timimi's from Doha Veterinary PractiseHave a pedicureMaintain a Brazilian (ouch) for three months.Find a trustworthy Czech hairdresser- Treat my inner-6-year-old twice a week (at least)
- Do the liver-cleansing diet properly (12 weeks)
- Don't eat out for one month
Find a flat and flatmate- Purchase one Joseph sweater
- Purchase one of the following pairs of
designer shoes (they MUST also be COMFORTABLE, and be able to be worn with 4
different outfits and 2 types of occasion): Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks,
Christian Louboutin (Ebay or 2nd hand are acceptable)
- Send 5 books to the booksphere and track them.
- Go hanggliding
- Read 10 'classic' books (from 1001 Books to Read before you Die)
Moll FlandersEverything is illuminatedMadam BovaryZen & the Art of Motorcycle MaintainanceCatch-22OdysseusOn the Road
- Run (non-stop!) for 5kms outside (preferably in a street race thingy)
- Send Christmas Cards on time
Make a collage/mural out of street lights on my wallBuy a bed, build it, and sleep soundly in itGo to AfricaHost an 'event' (classified as and when)Organise a 30th Birthday PartyWear a costume- Sing on stage
- Buy a painting that evokes memories of Prague (cannot involve queues!)
Learn a god-damned card game that stays in my memory (other than fish/snap)See sunrise. Be sober. Have woken for it. Excludes months Nov-Mar- Take a walk and flip coins at each intersection
Win something- Draft a will
- Take a roadtrip
Go to Italy already- Sea Kayak around Abel Tasman Park (NZ)
Get plantsTake a train to another Eastern European Destination (accession countries are acceptable) alone preferably.- Get UK to give me a provisional motorcyclists license and simultaneously get a 'card' license.
- Go SCUBA diving again - at least two dives lasting 30mins each.
Go to a dentist. *sigh*- Do a Czech Wine Trail. And live to tell the tale
- Make an 'outbreak emergency kit'.
- Go to bed prior to 11pm every night (inc weekends) for four consecutive weeks.
- Marvel over lack of tiredness
- Dine at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant (or Nobu)- preferably for free.
Bet on the nags- Do something for charity (applying and getting a 'red card' will count)
- Walk along the Champs Elysee
- Do 100 sit ups in a row
- Do 50 pressups (arms in tight)
- Make branston pickle (or nearest substitute)
- Cook something 'new' and 'adventurous' at least once a month
Find a mentorBe a mentorLearn what mentoring is all aboutMeet an online person in real lifeResist the flirt. Once. Just one night. It's okay if people don't immediately succumb to my natural charm. Really it is.Spend time at a spa (spa towns in the CR don't count)- Send a care package to someone
Get a Tata Bojs CD- Take a French/German/Dutch course and SPEAK THE DAMNED LANGUAGE WHEN I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES ME SOUND
LIKE AN IDIOT!
- Order new contact lenses.
Make a list of things I take with me when I pack for different occasions- Eat lobster. Prepared by someone else.
Back up the blogPut everything onto an external hard drive- Find a DDR mat and console and 'dance, I say dance!'�
- Go to the beach and lie on the warm sand. For an hour. (with sunscreen on, natch)
- Take and complete a course in either: Tango, Salsa or Flamenco
- Join the Municipal Library of Prague
- Move to another country
Go to a live concert of a band I actually like- Pay off debts (student loan excl.)
Send thank you cards for every gift I receive (other than the gift of happiness, blah blah blah).- Get an agent (literary or theatre)
- Go to a sports bar without cringing, by personal choice
- Ride a rollercoaster
- Hold a snake
Spend a day wandering around a museum (not art gallery!) |
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| Goddess, Princess, Whore |
| Wednesday 26 October 2005 |
Until my computer is hooked up to the internet almost permanently, whereupon I shall tune in to Radioactive, I listen to BBC world to go to sleep. Not proteže (pro-ter-jay = because) it is soporific in nature, but because it’s actually quite interesting. Although I’m unimpressed with the brevity of the world news (argh! I’ve turned into my father), I’m happy that it’s not as sportscentric as the NZ news. Anyway, the title of today’s entry comes from last nights interview with a Bettany Hughes (sp?) who has just published a book on Helen of Troy with the subtitle ”Goddess, Princess, Whore” and I was sufficiently impressed to plagiarise (that word thanks to Chris who answered the ”what’s the word for ‘to describe theft of words/ideas’?” txt within 12 hours!!!) the line immediately!. The article was preceded with a blurb claiming that Helen of Troy may have been far from the blonde-haired buxom princess that people imagine, and more likely to be a bare-breasted warrior female who’s voracious sexual appetite was only surpassed by her blood lust.
I’m almost convinced to read it.
Perhaps it’s my need for reading, and the peculiar genres scattered throughout this apartment (what will I do when I move?) but I’ve been REALLY enjoying the book that Tracey gave me before I left. It’s called ”The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” and one of the characters is Prazdaju (still no idea what the ‘belonging noun’ is of someone from Prague but this is pronounced Pra-sda-you and may be correct in Český). And it’s a fantastic read, apparently winning the Pulitzer prize in 2001. I might just be inclined to read other winners. Am I growing up? I sure hope not. If you have any chick lit that needs a home, feel free to send it onwards, I promise to enjoy!
Today I realised just how economical the Czech language is. For instance, if you want to say, ”I don’t eat breakfast” when describing your ráno (rah-no = morning), you simply say ”nesniduje” (neh-snee-do-yeh). I know! Four words into one!!! I have all the excuse to mumble that I need. I wonder if this means I’ll be less verbose in Czech…
I still haven’t quite gotten accustomed to this public transport lark despite using it in Wellington. As far as I’m concerned, the iPod shuffle does not refer to (reasonably) new hardware, but is merely the activities you go through prior to leaving anywhere and upon arrival, involving putting on your jumper and scarf then adding a jacket and bag, before realising that your iPod is still out (or worse, in your bag) so reversing the procedure THEN repeating it again so as to have your iPod secreted underneath your clothing. Of course, the white earbuds expose it immediately, but I’m rapidly developing a Prazdavian (?) scowl to keep the iPod theives at bay!
I know that many people don’t think of shops as landmarks. I don’t quite know why not, sometimes it’s really easy to navigate using, say, shoe shops! If you include clothing shops on your list of ”landmarks to pass en route to destination” the journey is much more enjoyable. Although there is one drawback to being window-savvy. While fashion around the world undergoes an (AWFUL) 80’s revival (complete with leggings and bubble skirts…ARGH!), it seems Prague can rejoice in the fact that the rest of the world has taken steps back to join it’s sartorial choices. Yes folks, the 80’s didn’t end in Prague – they’re still obsessed with Depeche Mode – and the mullet is a national symbol (especially if it’s two tone!).
Though this mars the face of the otherwise beautiful city of Prague, I must admit that other economies are apparent for their cleverness. Také, for instance, the blanket. Not only can you cut a slot in the middle of it and call it an oversized poncho in the winter, but the moment the sun DOES come out and warm the grass in the squares (that you’re not allowed to walk on, lest you trample the precious blades, or something), you can quickly flip it off and voila, instant picnic blanket. I’m thinking of importing some of those plastic bottomed ones from The Warehouse in NZ, think of the killing I’d make in ‘waterproof ponchos’???
Having watched the local news channel tonight (preferable to last nights Big Brother – have come to conclusion that it’s shite in any language!), I was sufficiently frustrated to log onto www.bbc.co.uk. And whaddya know, they’re introducing a partial smoking ban in the UK. Hooray! I wish they’d do the same over here. Today, while I was in a GOVERNMENT building, I saw people smoke. It’s like England in the 60’s (I’m guessing, from all the films I’ve seen) without the music, and with ankle socks and stilettos. The tea room at the institute is also a smoking room, and I’m already tired of coming home from work smelling of cigarettes that I haven’t smoked. It’s one thing if you choose to poison your own lungs (and make your own hair and clothes smell) but I kind of resent it when other people impose their bad habits on me. Have I been in NZ too long?
Should I let an 18 year old set me up? Turns out that one of the girls at school knows a Czech lad called Honza (don’t laugh, the girls are named Olga for heaven’s sake). He’s 26 and since she already has a boyfriend, she’s offered to send him my way. Yay. Část-offs! J Hell, at least I might find out where the best kavarnas (pronounced EXACTLY how it’s spelt = coffee houses) are. Went to Ultramarina on Sunday with Štepan and, despite both expressing a distinct lack of energy, the coffee was good. Sílný a bílý (sill-knee a bee-lee = strong and white). ”I like my coffee like I like my….”
While browsing the news of the world, I also stopped in at www.praguepost.cz. This is a local, english language rag (about 2 pages of broadsheet) published daily during the week here. You can’t buy it for love nor money (though I could subscribe) but it’s on the internet, and they give it to you for free if you fly CSU. They have an accommodation section, which I had a quick look at. See, Vlad has scared me a little by describing my accommodation-to-be as incredibly basic and probably not roomy enough for my belongings. Hmm. So anyway, looking at 1-bdrm apartments. And it turns out that I’m far too accustomed to the pleasant building constraint in NZ that has people put at least two doors between toilet and kitchen (this is why I was so appalled that your bathroom and kitchen sink are one and the same Lisa, I’ve been totally spoilt). I believe this restriction is due to the 120cm aerosol that is created when you flush a toilet. I like the protection that those two doorways provide. I don’t like the look of many of the studio apartments advertised. Though they were only €300/month. What proportion of your salary are you supposed to put towards accommodation again?
That’s it. Random thoughts from Nomes for the day. Oh, and because my degrees are unrecognisable to the Ministry of Education, my official transcript has to be sent to the University of Brno (where the vet faculty is) so that they can compare syllabuses (syallabi? Syllabub recipes?) and decide whether I’m worthy of being employed as an epidemiologist. This could také years. So Vlad is persuading human resources to employ me as an overpaid unqualified person instead. So much for that ”get an education, see the world” plan! Anyway if the plan works, I can sign a contract, which means I should start getting some money from EPIET (who apparently need to see a signed contract before they look at a deposit slip). This would make me very happy indeed, as I’ve already had to apply to the parents for emergency funds. Sheesh! Pimples, insecurity and asking for money. When exactly DOES one grow up? |
posted by Nomes @ Wednesday, October 26, 2005   |
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