Vakar uzgāju šo “diagrammu”. Un sapratu, ka tā pilnībā pasaka visu, ko es domāju par rokasspiedieniem. Nedrīkst būt pārāk spēcīgs, bet noteikti arī ne vājš. Ja satieku vīrieti, kurš man, kā sievietei, roku spiež vāji, pirmā doma, kas man iezogas prātā – ak, lupata… Ja vīrietis man roku spiež pārāk stingri (šķiet, gadījies vienu vai divas reizes manā mūžā), saprotu – viņam īsti nav skaidrs tas, kā veidota sieviete un kas tai vispār nepieciešams.
Lielais noslēpums – stingri, bet ne pārāk.
Starp citu, ko Tu domā par rokasspiedieniem? Vai esmu vienīgā, kas izdara šādus secinājumus?
Nu jā. Kā jau pēc iepriekšējā ieraksta sapratāt, es meklēju dzīvokli. Ne pa jokam meklēju. Un, kā jau katram kārtīgam dzīvokļa meklētājam, arī man ir nācies saskarties ar dažādām dīvainībām. Ar pāris no tām padalīšos, bet diemžēl, nevarēšu pievienot linkus uz sludinājumiem, jo liela daļa no tiem jau izņemta no sludinājumu portāliem.
Nesen zvanīju uz dzīvokli Brīvības ielā – visnotaļ forša paskata – baltas sienas, laminātparkets – nu, diezgan tīrs un labs izskatījās. Divas istabiņas – gluži forši. Tikai manīju, ka bildēs nekur nefigurē virtuve. Zvanot vaicāju – kas ir virtuves komplektācijā? Sieviete smejoties atbildēja – kādā komplektācijā? Virtuves nav!
Pirms pāris nedēļām devos apskatīt vienu dzīvokli Merķeļa ielā. Pēc bildēm šķita baigi jauks – mazs, divistabu brīnumiņš. Tante gan pa telefonu izklausījās kādas sešdesmit reizes pārāk pašpārliecināta – redz, lai pasteidzoties, visi to dzīvokli gribot. Nodomāju – ok, nav liels pārsteigums – izskatās diezgan foršs, pie tam pašā centrā. Aizejot uz dzīvokli un jau kāpnēs sajūtot TO smaku, sapratu, ka nu – nevar taču būt, ka te būs slēpies fotogrāfijās redzamais dzīvoklis. Sava iedzimtā naivuma dēļ tomēr kāpu uz otro stāvu un zvanīju pie durvīm. Durvis atvēra jau krietni paveca tante ar skatienu, kas man joprojām rēgojas acu priekšā. The crazy eyes. Nē, jūs neuzminējāt – es tomēr gāju iekšā. Jau pirmajās sekundēs sapratu, ka tas nav tas pats dzīvoklis, kas bildēs. Drošības pēc tomēr pajautāju. Nu, a ko. Viņa mani apsēdināja uz izgulēta un dies-vien-zina ko piedzīvojuša dīvāna un aizkūpināja cigareti. Es viņai pavaicāju vai īres gadījumā visas mēbeles (kuras izskatījās jau pieaugušas pie sienas) te paliktu. Viņa atbildēja apstiprinoši un noteica, ka tad jau laikam man nederot, ja tā prasot. Atbildēju ar dikti slikti tēlotu, žēlu sejas izteiksmi un galvas mājienu. Pavaicāju, vai varu apskatīt virtuvi – viņa teica, ka labāk nē – tur šobrīd esot tādas lietas, kuras labprātāk nerādītu. Es nudien pat negribēju zināt, kādas. It kā jau ar to nebūtu pietiekami, viņa vēl piebilda, ka pati jau būtu dzīvoklī tikai pāris dienas nedēļā. Es pārvaicāju – pag, mēs īrētu un jūs te būtu? Nu, jā… Atvadījāmies un visu ceļu mājup centos attapties.
Apskatījām vienu dzīvokli Vecrīgā. Divas izolētas istabas, saules daudzums kā, khem, afroamerikāņa pēcpusē, uz tualetes tai pienākošies meitenes un puikas simboli (izskatījās visnotaļ pēc lēta hosteļa) un ļoti pašapmierināts saimnieks. Nē, paldies, bumbulīt.
Apskatot sludinājumus un pēc tam dzīvokļus, varu Jums atvieglot meklējumus mazliet patulkojot saimnieku/mākleru valodu:
– Saulains dzīvoklis – tas arī ir vienīgais dzīvokļa pluss; – Nepieciešams neliels remonts – nepieciešams visaptverošs kosmētiskais remonts – ja paveicas; kapitālais – ja ne visai veicas; – Dzīvoklis parastā stāvoklī – dzīvoklī būs problēmas iekļūt, visticamāk – arī izkļūt no tā; – Daļējas ērtības – dabiskās vajadzības kārtosi tuvējā Staķikā, veikalā vai prasīsies kaimiņiem; – Ērts dzīvoklis – 1) Ļoti, ļoti mazs – viss rokas stiepiena attālumā; 2) Pie visām sienām paklāji – mīksti un ērti; – Kluss dzīvoklis – slikts rajons, apkārt neviens neīrē, nav kam bļaustīties; – Mājīgi iekārtots – (par šo atbildu reāli!) padomju laika sekcija, tas pats paklājs pie sienas, tāds pats uz grīdas, divi klubkrēsli un izlaižamais dīvāns. – Divlīmeņu dzīvoklis – vienā vai vairākās vietās ielūzusi grīda; – Dzelzs durvis – konkrētajā rajonā tādas ir akūti nepieciešamas; – Eiroremonts – nav ļoti netīrs; – Netālu no prestižā vēstniecību rajona – Vārnu iela; – Kompakts dzīvoklis – 1) No dušas iekāpsi pa taisno podā; 2) Mazgājoties varēsi paralēli gatavot ēst – duša ir tieši blakus gāzes plītij.
Jā, dzīvokli šobrīd atrast nav tas vieglākais darbiņš.
Man ir divdesmit trīs un es beidzot esmu sapratusi to, kur slēpjas nekārtība mājās. Tā slēpjas iedomās, ka kāda lieta (vienalga kas – pildspalva, grāmata, ķemme, kaut mazsālīts gurķis) mums būs tuvākajā laikā nepieciešams, tāpēc pilnīgi noteikti nebūtu to pareizi nolikt tam paredzētajā vietā, kas, neapšaubāmi, ir gaismas gadu attālumā. Tāpēc šīs lietas mēs atstājam “pa rokai” un voila! – nekārtība gatava.
Un te – dziesma burvīgai svētdienai. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWnBD6n9j74&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Peter and The Wolf (c) Rock Insider (www.rockinsider.com)
Pirms pāris dienām Ilze mani iepazīstināja ar Youtube kanālu WatchListenTell, kurā apokopotas dažādu (dažu – kādreiz, dažu – joprojām) mazpazīstamu muzikantu dziesmas ar burvīgiem, speciāli šim projektam uzņemtiem video. Tajā bija arī, piemēram, šobrīd ļoti labi zināmās Florence & The Machine 2008.gadā iedziedātā dziesma “My Boy Builds Coffins” un Two Door Cinema Club pazīstamās dziesmas “Something Good Can Work” lieliska akustiskā versija. Kanālā pamanīju arī par uzlecošajām zvaigznēm Latvijā jau nodēvētos britu puišus Stornoway, kurus nesen varējām vērot spēlējoties Latvijā, festivālā Positivus. Tātad – visai precīzi paredzošs kanāls, vismaz pus-indie un galīgi indie grupu lauciņā.
Tomēr pats lielākais ieguvums no šī kanāla, manuprāt, ir grupa Peter and The Wolf. Jā, tagad laikam populāri saukt grupas pēc principa “cilvēks + dzīvnieks”. Atceries Noah and The Whale?
(Iespējams) par godu Sergeja Prokofjeva bērnu stāstam nosauktajā grupā ir trīs dalībnieki – viens jazzman, viena punk babe un trešais… trešais ir solists-līderis. Kopā viņiem sanāk fantastiskas dziesmas-stāsti, ļoti melodiski, vietām melanholiski kliedzoši, vietām kliedzoši pozitīvi. Jebkurā gadījumā – pēdējās dienas klausos tikai viņus un esmu visnotaļ sajūsmā. Piestāv vasarai, riteņiem, agriem rītiem un mazliet apvītušām puķēm vāzē uz palodzes.
Noklausies pāris viņu dziesmas MySpace – īpaši iesaku singlu “Chemistry Set” no pēdējā albuma “Golden Stars”.
Aizvakardienas „Sestdienā” lasīju anekdoti, kurā bija uzskaitītas ideālā vīrieša standartfrāzes. Izlasīju, mazlietiņ apsmējos un, aiz ziņkārības, izdomāju uzrakstīt savējās. Manas man, protams, izraisīja sešreiz lielākas smieklu vētras un visai labi lika man saprast to, kas man šķiet būtiski un, ka tās (varbūt, izņemot pāris lietas) ir tādas pavisam vienkāršas lietas.
Mana ideālā vīrieša standartfrāzes: – Aizskriešu uz veikalu pēc piena – tev taču rīt kafijai vajadzēs! – Tev nevajag diagnostiku datoram? Sen nav taisīta. – Pastāsti man kaut ko – man patīk kā tu runā. – Iedomājies, John Mayer ir jauns albums! Es nopirku un tūlīt tev pārsūtīšu! – Iemet vēl šito (jebko) miskastē, lai es varu iznest! – Kas tas Twitter bija? Pastāstīsi vēlreiz? Es īsti nesapratu. – Varbūt man tevi aizvest līdz darbam rīt? – Nedēļas nogalē mēs brauksim uz laukiem – malka taču ziemai jāsaskalda. – Neesi redzējusi manas bungu vālītes? – Tava suņu meitene ir foršākais suns pasaulē. Word. – Ilze ir nenormāli kruta. – Mums viennozīmīgi vajag stabilāku gultu. – Nē, es negribu reģistrēties nevienā sociālajā tīklā. – Tu sen neesi bijusi Londonā. – Muļķības. Ko tu tur runā? – Ee, es atradu, kur Rīgā var nopirkt WKD! Un nopirku tev kasti! – Tu forši mosties no rīta! Es nezināju, ka tu tādus lamuvārdus zini! – Klau, es šodien ar džekiem. – Tomato normālā valodā izrunājas, kā tomāto, nevis tomeito, ja. – Man ir reāli daudz darba.
Droši vien jau, ka ir vēl daudz un dikti. Bet tās bija tās, kas man uzreiz ienāca prātā. Kādas ir tavējās?
Image (C) Freedigitalphotos 45 Lessons Life Taught Me By Regina Brett, 90 years old
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone. 8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present. 12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks. 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful. 18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It’s never too late t o have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’ 27 Always choose life. 28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do. 35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back. 41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 42. The best is yet to come. 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 44. Yield. 45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
Merry Christmas to all the happy bunnies (sad ones too) out there! xx
This year is almost over and an evaluation is almost inevitable. I sat and thought about the things I can evaluate and came to a conclusion that there are so many, I just can’t deal with this boredom I could cause you. I just couldn’t sleep at night if I had done the crime of wasting your time with the evaluation of my life. I mean, really, who cares what’s the best food I’ve eaten this year? Or the best daiquiri I’ve drunk? I wouldn’t. So, I’m just going to do what’s best for all of us and skip that awful part. So, followed by a really loud drumroll… Here are the music “yeah’s” and music “no way’s” of this year.
– “Sleep well” album of the year: Norah Jones – The Fall. I would call it a “no way” if it wasn’t so plain and modest. It didn’t disturb my good night’s sleep at all, because I just didn’t notice it. So – here goes… an inconspicuous “yeah” for all of you insomniacs out there.
– “Two good singles” album of the year: You won’t believe me on this one probably, but let’s face it – I Gotta Feeling and Boom Boom Pow were the only two good singles from this year’s Black Eyed Peas album The E.N.D. They were good, okay, they got us all moving and jumping up’n’down, but we all know it’s not enough. If I would rate singles, it would be a definite “yeah”, but for the album there’s a big, fat “noooo way”.
John Mayer - Battle Studies (c) Sony Music
– “Quite boring, but decent” album of the year:
John Mayer – The Battle Studies. And I’m really sorry to say this, John. Continuum is still the best thing you’ve created. You’re still gorgeous, I still love you, but I think the routine has hit the relationship. The good news is – you can still get back on the track. Who Says proves it. Anyhow – this is a “yeah”, despite all.
– “Jump-around-shake-your-arse-like-you-just-don’t-care” album of the year:
Jamie T – Kings & Queens. In comparison with Panic Prevention, this is a downhill, obviously, but it still holds the obvious charm of Jamie T and his own style. There were tracks I loved, there were mundane tracks, there were the weird ones as well. Maybe, as time goes by I will love the tracks I hated at first, as it was with Panic Prevention. A single I just can’t fly by and not mention in this case is Sticks’n’Stones – amazing, full of energy and an obvious success. So yeah, I do give it a “yeah”. And I still want to see him perform live. Preferably Sheila and Northern Line, though.
Jamie T - Kings & Queens (c) Virgin Records
– “It was good, but let’s not take this any further” album of the year:
Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream. Well, this is just sad. Okay, it was great how she rocked Simon’s socks off at Britain’s Got Talent last year, but why, and this is a serious WHY, did she have to record an album, for God’s sake? And yeah, I know everyone has a right for their 15 minutes of fame, but didn’t hers tick out when she performed the third time of the song from Les Miserables? Oh well, but what do I know… Everyone, hurry to get your copy of copies!
– ALBUM OF THE YEAR. As simple as that.
Jamie Cullum – The Pursuit. I am convinced that a lot of people will listen to Jamie Cullum, the young boy (well, not so young anymore as he turned 30 this year) from Essex, in the future the way we listen to Frank Sinatra now. With honor, appreciation and admiration. Despite the critics who are on to Jamie about him “making the jazz pop-ish” I think that we are actually experiencing the birth (yes, and I’m sure he’s only in the early stages) of a legend. The first time I heard The Pursuit, I thought “Okay, not a lot of new stuff, but it’s decent at least. He hasn’t made the world’s best album, but he is still not breaking his own levels of mastery”. Then I heard it again, and again, and again… And I fell in love. I’m still listening to The Pursuit every single day and it still gives me goose pumps. So “yeah”, this is a very loud “YEAH” for fabulous Jamie Cullum.
Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit (c) Universal Music
I’ve got some “yeah’s” to give to Dave Matthews Band for Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, Amerie for In Love & War, Mika for The Boy Who Knew Too Much, Arctic Monkeys for Humbug, Ida Maria for – Fortress Round My Heart, Royksopp for Junior and Muse for The Resistance. And some definite “no way’s” for Eminem – Relapse and some of the very unfortunate comeback attempts from The Backstreet Boys and Take That (YES, INDEED!)
It’s the 6th day, since I’ve stepped on my home soil in Latvia. It has been a lot of fun, a lot of reunions and a lot of surprises. Majority of them very positive. Some of them not so positive – with recession and all. But I’ve pretty much understood that everything lies in your small and beautiful mind.
The most important thing is to walk the streets minding your own business. Get a large pair of headphones if you must. Put Belle & Sebastian on. Fantasize. Imagine. Plan. Make strategies. If you’re close to bankruptcy, use your imagination to come up with new ways of using the things you already have and don’t use. Don’t go to the clubs, make an in-house party with movies, cheap booze and clothes swapping. Play Monopoly or even hide-and-seek if you must. Even at hard times people have always somehow managed to get through. This is not a war, when you are losing the ones you love to the bullets and hatchets. No-one’s coming into your house and taking your children away, you know. It’s all in your head. Yes, the one that looks suspiciously pale today because of the reckless binge-drinking yesterday. The one that wishes that this was still Sunday. The one that possibly wishes you still had a job and money to pay your debts. Well guess what? This is not going to be a How to earn more money lesson. Because I’m no good at that. But I know one thing I’m pretty damn good at. Positive thinking. And imagination, come to that.
– Don’t talk about the crisis. Even if you’re at a pub and there is an uncomfortable silence between you and the person you want to talk pants-off. Talk about anything – refreshments (did you know that a hot tea is much more refreshing in a hot day than a cold coke?), music (well, I don’t have to give you ideas on this one, right?), Facebook (did you know that Facebook has recently launched a faster and lighter version called Facebook Lite?) or even me (did you know that I just spent the longest summer of my life? Eight months!)? Just change the subject. It’s not that difficult, I’m sure you can handle it.
– Spend more time with the kids. Even if you don’t have them. No, please don’t stalk kids on the streets, you’ll end up in jail. I’m talking visit your friends with kids and talk to them, hear their opinion kind of time-spending. You’ll find it refreshing and positive. And as Reamonn sung – this life is so complicated, until we see it through the eyes of a child.
– Watch TV shows. Sitcoms. Scrubs, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Black Books, The Big Bang Theory… These are my personal favorites, choose yours. Read books. The last really comforting book I’ve read is A Cat Called Norton: The True Story of an Extraordinary Cat and His Imperfect Human by Peter Gethers. You can borrow it, if you want. Turn the boring trolley bus rides in a world of your own. Put headphones on. Read. Don’t listen to others mumble about the sacking and hunger.
– Get out of the city. Go to the countryside. If you don’t have a countryside house of your own, invite yourself to one of your friends houses. Collect apples, plums, potatoes and camomile – it’s the right time. Make apple pies, plum jams… anything really. You’ll have a good time now and delicious treats in the winter.
– Tidy and clean your house. The poorer you are, the cleaner your house must be. Come up with new ways to make it even more personal. You have to feel at home at your home, don’t you?
– Meet old friends at weird places. Drop a line to a friend you haven’t seen for years and invite him to a picnic on the roof. To a clothes swapping party. To a gallery run. To a free concert. I’m sure you can come up with even better ideas. The main idea is – surprise people pleasantly, please! They’ve probably had enough of unpleasant surprises already. Stop drinking bad coffee at Starbucks or Double Coffee, please!
– Meet foreigners. No, I’m not talking about British stags who take a leak on the Freedom Monument. I’m talking about Couchsurfing.org, for instance. Offer them “Tea or Coffee and a show-around”. Hear their experiences. You’ll broaden your mind and have a great time. Not to mention, you’ll definitely do the possibly a bit lost traveller a favor, by showing the best places not mentioned on the tourist guides.
– Avoid reading news. I know this one is controversial, because you have to be a bit up to date, but still. If you do read them, read them as fiction novels. Don’t imagine those things happening to yourself. I’m not suggesting you to live as a Tibetan monk, or pack your bags and move to your imagination apartment, I’m telling you not to let all those bad things too close. It will do you no good.
So, anyway, the deal is – imagine, fantasize and create. Do you remember the line from Everything Is Borrowed by The Streets?
I came to this world with nothing, and I’ll leave with nothing but love. Everything else is just borrowed.
There is a beautiful small town in the North of Portugal, which just got trashed massively. As I’ve mentioned before, I have lived in Porto, Portugal for about four months now. Quite some time and yet, there is so much that I explored during these past days and so much I learned about the wonderful Portuguese people. But let’s not rush forward too fast…
Why the particular week? There are a lot of reasons why this week was The One. But the main reason is the visit of a good friend of mine, also known as the Party Chipmunk of Latvia (Almighty). He might not have £100000 fun himself, but everywhere he goes, magic just happens. If he goes over to Porto for Sao Joao, you can count on the best celebration ever. If he goes to an unknown jazz club, there most certainly will be a DVD on with one of his favorite artists. He laughs. He jumps around like a Happy Bunny and sings along. He’s not a very big fan of hammers. He’s awesome humble and shy.
What happened exactly? Well, I’m not going to tell you everything, mates! But this is just because at one point my memory just fails me. You know I’ve got nothing to hide from you. So – here goes…
Day One The best view ever: two Latvians struggling with the lack of sleep. He had spent a night in London Stansted and I was too worried that I might oversleep, that I just couldn’t sleep at all. Although, we had a lovely walk to some of the sights, like Sao Bento rail station, the bridge of Luis I and Vila Nova de Gaia. When you come to Porto, make sure you cross the bridge of Luis I (that’s the only one the tube crosses, quite easy to spot) and go a bit up to the small park on the other side of river Douru and enjoy the splendid view on the whole cidade do Porto. Some say that the only good thing in Gaia is that particular view and port wine. Not sure that I agree, but we certainly tried both and I can say that the view causes much less unbearable headache in the next morning, than the port wine.
Day Two There are quite a few Latvians in Porto. One of them is a really good friend of mine and she works at a wonderful bar at the seaside called Praia dos Ingleses (Portuguese: English Beach). Spontaneously, we decided to drop by and in the mean time check out the ocean. It turned out to be the absolutely right thing to do and we had a wicked time. Imagine – the ocean, waves, stars and cold beverages. Don’t quite remember the way home but it was very, very late. Here’s a tip: if you ever visit that bar – don’t buy rum & coke, it’s oddly expensive, choose something else. For us, the choice was gin & tonics. I think I can still taste juniper in my mouth. Ah, I almost forgot – before going to the beach, we saw one of the most awkward buildings in Portugal – Casa de Musica – the house of music. It’s the central place of the majority of the musical events – mostly Portuguese and world music. Moving forward to…
Day Three… …took my breath away. I reckon I had never seen so many people in one place doing things so incredibly odd and lovely at the same time. Why? This is the day of the midsummer festival in Portugal. It’s called Sao Joao in Porto and Braga, two small towns in the North, and Sao Antonio in the rest of the towns and Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal (well, duh!). I can only tell you about the traditions of Sao Joao – been there, done that. At the celebration day, the anticipation is in the air. You can see trade folks on the streets selling plastic hammers, basil pots and garlic blossoms (I had no idea, they were so big!). All of the things mentioned before are essential celebration attributes, apparently. I’m going to elaborate on the hammer only. Buy one, you’ll need one. Even if you don’t like them at first, you will catch yourself paying that one or two Euros for it later. All of the people just walk the streets hitting each other with those hammers. They make a cute squeaking sound that will ring in your ears long after the party. It’s a lot of fun and you just have to give in. Also, there are wonderful fireworks at the Ribeira (Riverside) part of the town and when they end, people start walking to Castelo do Queijo (The Cheese Castle). It’s located in a huge roundabout, which is the central part of Matosinhos, the part of Porto with all the surfers, fisherman and ocean lovers. After the parade to ocean, you can write off the next days, because you will simply be half paralyzed, especially in the feet area.
Day Four Waking up at about 2pm, after arriving home at about 7am, the first thought was: where are my shoes? Portuguese know how to party. They just do. This was the day that was supposed to be dull and sleepy, but it turned out that my friend had done his Googling and found a small jazzy-blues bar at the area of Sao Bento station. On our way to the club, he dragged me into a fun fair with those awful little cars with whom the biggest challenge is to hit as many other vehicles as possible. I was insanely afraid in the beginning, but surprisingly it turned out to be lots and lots of fun. When we got to the club, it turned out that there is no jam session after all, because everybody is sleeping after the yesterday’s party. We still went in to have a few beers and we ended up very pleased, because they were showing the live concert of John Mayer, which is a love we both share. Met some really nice Portuguese musicians and had an awesome time.
Day Five The lack of beauty sleep is finally beating me, so we went to the nearest Wifi spot to get some internet and have breakfast and split our roads for me to sleep, for him to keep exploring. Instead of sleeping I finally managed to clean the enormous mess my room had turned into and read some case studies on the journalism ethics, because I’ll have to do the impossible – I will have to pass an exam after a week of hardcore parties. Let’s see how it works out.
Day Six Being a good girl and skipping the amazing sightseeing ride to study for the exam. Waiting for my flat mate to wake up and plug my internet back to where it belongs. As I said I’m in Porto for about 4 months now and there is one thing that I would like to teach them, there is one tiny thing that I would never get used to, if I lived here permanently. Majority of them doesn’t understand the significance of internet. I’m pretty sure, that’s because they don’t know how to use it ways that will make a difference and help them do things better and faster. Thank god, my course mates stand beyond others. As for myself – I just need my permanent internet access. It’s not that I’m planning to use it all the time, it’s just – I need it to be there, be available. Is that so hard to understand?
Keep your eyes peeled, more details & pictures coming soon! And I’m more than sure you don’t want to miss them! By the way, if you’re fortunate enough to be one of the approx. 1,4 million Latvian speakers – check out the videocasts, that we made..
(All of the characters are fictional and if you see any connection with reality, I advice you to call your shrink immediately)
