(TED) Talking about Time

It's certainly been a while. Too long in fact.

Weeks have whizzed by; flitting between cities, houses and faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, and finally things have begun to settle down, starting with my achieving the unachievable (finding a house in London). All in all it has been a blur of a couple of months and now that time of the year has come again; the time for gawking at the sight of the Christmas decorations and bright orange leaves that adorn the streets of London. The time when it dawns on you that winter is on the horizon and yet another year is, indeed, coming to an end.

The wise out there, who have hit riper ages beyond their late-twenties, will be able to recall that their early twenties were an awkward few years of self-realisation, frustration, and uncertainty. In fact, this may well still ring true now and continue to do so until much later on (dare I say it may never end)?

Well, the rut that I find myself in now is precisely that which I have taken the liberty to call:

"Being 22"

Not quite fully independent, financially or socially, being a 22 year old 4th year undergraduate has been characterised by face-offs with my laptop, night after night, looking for jobs for next year rather than writing my essay for next week. An overwhelming sensation of rootlessness and lack of definition in my daily activities has temporarily (one would hope) debilitated me from doing anything meaningful in the intervening minutes and hours that sneak in between lectures, trainings, meals and bedtimes.

I say this very much aware of the fact that this is a rather poor argument laden with faults: laziness, poorly constructed excuses, and too much time-wasting to mention a few. These little intersections - the awkward 37 minute gap between the moment you finish your lunch leading up to your next appointment or that 1 hour and 24 minute train journey to your next destination - are the little pockets of time which are so often undervalued when they are actually golden nuggets there for the taking. Too often do we let them slip through our fingers, when we should be scooping them up selfishly and pocketing them with care.

When tired and ready to switch off after a long day, evenings are habitually set aside for dinner, faffing around online, replying to emails, tidying up bits and bobs and various loose ends that are relatively unimportant but nevertheless need to be seen to. These are some of the faux-productive activities that lull us into a sensation of being organised and productive. Leisure reading is sent to the back of the queue following work and academic reading and a film is a guilty treats on a night off. Awkward gaps in the day are filled with more aimless scrolling and surfing  - and so, rather than picking up my half-finished summer read, my days are marked with intermittent breaks browsing facebook and other relatively useless social media websites.

Well my friends, an inch an hour a foot a day.

These little nuggets of time add up and by the time you know it, your daily dose of dispersed 5 minute Facebook sessions amount to a considerable amount of lost time; irretrievable minutes which you would have been better off spending day dreaming or going for a walk in the park.

You're better off kicking back and relaxing, or pondering, or staring into space - because at least this way your mind is free to wander.

Stefan Sagmeister: The Power of Time Off

A couple of little things that I have introduced into my daily routine includes listening to podcasts.
It's a great awkward-time filler and, having selected informative ones, it jogs the mind a bit as well.

Freakonomics and Stuff You Should Know are particular favourites.

It's time to spend time more meaningfully.

Happy Tuesday!

Mesmerising Moments and Musings

I have two favourite moments in the day: 

One is at around 6-7am in the morning when the air is fresh and crisp

 and the streets are still deserted.

The other, especially around this time of year, is sunset.

Not sunset in that romantic, blazing-red-sun-disappearing-over-the-horizon sort of way that such a statement may bring to mind.
My room is facing the wrong way for me to see that side of it, and the only glimpse of said blazing sun that I do get, is in the reflection of the hotel windows opposite my building. 

No - what I am referring to is that time around 7pm, when the busy-ness of the day is behind you but there is still a good chunk of evening left ahead of you. It's when big puffy clouds take over the dimming sky, above endless red tiled roofs and orange brick church towers; some amazingly fresco-esque, others threateningly charcoal grey. The bats are out flying in a frenzy and there is a cool breeze that filters through the narrow streets and high buildings of the old Jewish ghetto. There is the static excitement of a potential thunderstorm - but then, it could all just roll into another quiet balmy evening. It's a conflicting moment of relief and regret; time to relax but also the end of yet another day, one in which I probably could have been more productive.

Just yesterday at exactly this sliver of the day, it hit me that another chapter [or sub-chapter let's say] of my life is reaching it's closing sentence. The little black dot marking the end of the last phrase is a mere metre away and once it's done, it'll really be done.

Granted, I will probably come back, and there is not need to be quite so dramatic, but never will it be under the same circumstances, and nor will I be the same person by then. My days of watching bats fly at dusk from my Jewish ghetto room as a twenty-something student will be behind me for good.

And yet "As soon as I get through exams"// "As soon as I get this essay in" //"As soon as I do this and that" // "As soon as, as soon as..." seems to have been on repeat all year long. Only to be followed by: "Then I'll catch up with that friend of mine"// "Then I'll read that book I've been meaning to read"// "Then I'll prioritise staying fit and exercising"

It seems that

As soon as I [insert pending boring task], then I will [insert desirable task]

Has defined the past few months that I've spent here. Far too often, far too much.

For a condition with such a simple remedy, it seems it can also be a chronic one.

Putting off what we really want to do and things that we enjoy for the sake of doing what we feel we ought to do, happens too often and too easily. And the scary thing is that for so many, by the time they realise that they might be in the right place, whether physically or mentally, or setting to finally do what they want to do, half their lifetime is behind them. Which is rubbish!

I mean You Only Live Once, right?

Why do we we let our happiness fall so low on our list of priorities?

Of course we need grit and determination and hard work.
It is important to be productive and, from time to time, do things that just have to get done.
But it's also important to remember, that once you finish a chapter of your life,
or a paragraph of it, or even a simple sentence of it,
once that little black fullstop is in place, it ain't budging. Full stop.

So we need to keep on asking ourselves if what we're doing is really worth our time and effort.
If it is going to get us where we want to be and eventually make us happy.

Cos if the answer to that is 'no'...

It's time to stop filling the page for the sake of it, and flip to a fresh a one.

.

Press play (and then repeat)

Don't let her small frame fool you; she has big ideas and is truly creative.
She is a talented singer and a trumpet player too.
An eclectic individual of Irish and Japanese provenance.

She is musically-minded
And has completed her first album:

Impressive Health Method

A parcel of hand-woven pieces
Put perfectly together in the privacy of her bedroom.

(She happens to be the protagonist of my previous post too.)

She is Ermhoi.

Priorities

Prioritising is a very important skill. Especially as a student.

 Let's just make that clear.

So what to do when you have a dissertation to write and several exams to prepare for, 

but the ever seductive Italian summer sun is beckoning at you from your window?

Go to the Mercato della Terra of course.

It's grocery shopping after all.

(It's a chore... and a pressing one too. Therefore it is a priority.)

Once you've arrived, go ahead and get yourself a porchetta (or pesto) tigella.

Just getting brunch while waiting to be served at the veggie stall you see.

Two birds with one stone.

Then get some more food. You know, that way you don't need to eat till dinner.

Just saving yourself time mate, all strategic.

Upon arriving home, once you've stocked your fridge up with fresh veg,

only then is it time to lament.

Not only do you now have to work, but you've also had a taste of the warm rays of sunshine

on your pale, pasty skin (telling of how studious you have been up until now - so flaunt it.)

You've heard the buzz of people soaking it all up.

You know that everyone will be heading to the park for a nice snooze. 

Maybe join them later, have a quick walk - as a study break.

(Don't want to be overexerting yourself now.)

It is Saturday after all. 

And lest we forget, we are in Italy.

(What even is this "work" you keep on talking about?)

But in the meantime...

What to do, what to do.

Well, bring the park to you of course.
(I.e. drag your desk half way across your room to your window.)
(Your bed may have to do as a makeshift desk chair. But as long as your back holds - not a problem.)
Ecco, your dull workspace has now been converted into a lovely, park-like space. Sort of.

Once that's done,

Pop some fresh market mint into a tea pot and make some mint tea.

And play some Bob Marley. Or fitting music of your choice.

 Now, and only now, are you ready to start working.

Talk about prioritising perfection.

I'd say you could all probably learn a thing or two from me...

Sakura image from here.

Ted Talk Tuesday

Well, more like Tim Minchin Tuesday for today.

It is surprisingly easy to forget that whilst you are stuck in your bedroom, or the library, or your office, most likely resenting every minute of revision/studying/working, that outside there is still A LOT going on. And so I have decided to dedicate Tuesdays to a new "Ted Talk Tuesday" series of posts, mainly, and selfishly, for the sake of my own sanity.

Having been house-bound and buried in books a quick talk here and there to refresh the mind and open your eyes can do a whole world of good. That and good food - speaking of which, if you are stuck on ideas of what to have with your 10th cup of tea, or if you simply need a break from working, take a look at Heleneats; it's a magical page with a lot of delicious recipes. Besides, baking is always therapeutic.

To those of you out there revising, working 9 to 5, feeling a bit down and stuck, I feel you and I wish you the best of luck!
Seeing as I couldn't embed the Ted talk that I wanted to post, I will go ahead with Tim Minchin's speech at the University of Western Australia which, at the end of the day, is rather fitting given it is exam time for a lot of students, as well as the slow pre-summer stretch for a lot of office-workers.

It is quirky and humorous, yet still inspirational. The talk itself lasts for 12 minutes so if you have a moment click the play button and be on your way!

Happy Tuesday!

Tips, tricks and tools for fools

I am fairly certain that all the reading I have been doing for my dissertation has got me heading straight for the same fate as Lieut. Colin Blythe in The Great Escape. In other words, I am going blind. Fact.

Recruitment for guide person will start shortly. 

So here's hoping that I'll make it to the end of this post.
Luckily the torrential rain and lightning which has been plaguing Bologna for the past couple of days has made it easier to insert myself in the library and stay there for more than 20 minutes (win). So after a fruitful day of studying, and a particularly dull week of minimal socialising and venturing out, I thought I'd just give a few tips and tools that have helped me over the years, for learning a language.

Aside from the classic and best-known tricks to picking up a language (drinking and perhaps picking up a native-speaker in the process) here are three things that I would recommend:

1) Use a Translation Dictionary Thesaurus 

My second mother from my second family, up in Milan, gave me a little pocket thesaurus and commanded that I use it when reading and writing in Italian. Parting with good ol' Wordreference was a heartbreaking prospect, but hey, apparently it's what all the kids at school are doing, and unlike a lot of English people, Italians, on the whole, have excellent command of their own language. And so, a couple of months ago I made the switch from quick and easy Wordref to my little black book of "sinonimi & contrari". It's a great way to expand your vocabulary and it all happens naturally; you look up one word and learn four or five new ones. And if you don't recognise any of the words listed, then you can use a dictionary. By which point you have also learnt the meaning of the four or five, previously, unknown words. Multiple words with one stone!    

2) Join the Club!

What stroke of madness made me dish out 140 euros to play volleyball on a non-competitive, mixed team when I was paying 1/14th of that for a competitive, women's team in London (with a coach) you ask? Well, aside from the fact that I didn't want to become completely spherical on my year abroad, it also boiled down to the fact that I didn't know anyone when I first got here.
Joining a sports team, taking dancing lessons, joining a book club - or even just going to talks and events that interest you - is a great way to meet people who, most likely, have similar interests and hobbies as you. Your first conversation is also less prone to being awkward, as the activity you are participating in, or the talk you have just attended becomes a good conversation starter. Key tip: don't be afraid to go it alone. And be weary of bringing along a native. If you go with someone who speaks your language, you will probably end up clinging to them for the duration of the event, or at least to begin with, which could hinder your chances of conversing with other people!

3) Lang-8
While tandems are a good way to meet people and polish up on your non-native languages, they can be a little awkward and tedious to maintain. Lang-8 is sort of like a language tandem social media website. Basically you sign up, specify which language(s) you are/would like to learn and which one(s) you speak natively and start writing! You can start with an introduction of yourself in your target language, or by writing journal entries, or a few paragraphs about your interests/hobbies; whatever you want. Then, people that have specified your target language as their native language will see your post and correct it for you. You will then be able to see your original version, line for line, next to the corrected version. You can (though don't have to) return the favour to others by correcting other people's English posts (or posts that are written in whatever is your native language). Simple!

Of course there are many other tips that I have not mentioned, like reading books, watching un-dubbed films/tv series with subtitles and all the usual, but these are a few that are a little bit off the beaten track (except for maybe the second one) which I thought could be handy! 

And finally, to conclude this post, I share with you a little piece of entertainment that I found in my academic reading this afternoon. I know a lot of people are revising or writing dissertations like I am, and it can be a tough time, full of self-doubt and plummeting confidence. Well, my friends, not to worry. Today, I received some consolation, and a laugh, when I read that the subject of my dissertation, Dino Buzzati (author of Il deserto dei Tartari, Sessanta Racconti, Poema a Fumetti and others - recommended reads) shared something in common with me: a poor understanding of the rules of punctuation.

Anyone that has read a couple of my posts will know by now, that I tend to toss my commas around. Which is why this little gem about Buzzati made me chuckle (alone, in the library of, typical):

“Montanelli afferma, a proposito dei primi anni di Buzzati al “Corriere”, che i suoi colleghi dovevano sempre intervenire, all’inizio, a sistemargli le virgole: i punti sapeva dove metterli, ma le virgole le “buttava così, come fosse stato del sale, dove andava andava”. – “[...Egli] scrive senza punteggiatura e non è mai riuscito a capire dov’è che finisce una frase e ne comincia un’altra”. 

“Montanelli (a colleague of the author) confirms, that during Buzzati's first few years at the "Corriere" (an Italian newspaper), his colleagues always had to intervene, at the start, to tidy up his commas: he knew where to put his fullstops, but his commas he 'threw around, like granules of salt, they landed where they landed.'” - “[He] writes without punctuation and has never been able to understand where one sentence ends and another begins.”

Fancy that - I spend so much time doubting myself and my capabilities but hey, at the end of the day we're all clueless, even the very best of us!

Happy Friday.

Image from The Great Escape was from here.
The one of the thesaurus from here.
The super corny team photo from here. The next image was from here.
And that of Buzzati from here.
Excerpt about Buzzati's poor punctuation from p187 of Nella Giannetto's Il sudario delle caligini (Firenze, 1996)

The Wrong Way is the Right Way to go

Having begun to despair at the monotony of Bologna's restaurants (don't get me wrong, the food is great, it's just that when the same list of primi piatti, usually tortellini, lasagne and the like, and slight variations of very samey secondi, keep on popping up everywhere, eventually the appeal of eating out wares off) it came as a nice surprise to stumble upon a different type of restaurant.

I came across it when my sister was visiting me and we went for a little wonder down Via del Pratello, seeing as it was her first time in Bologna and that was one of my less explored parts of the city. We wondered about in search of - well neither of us really knew what we were in search of - so we simply wondered about aimlessly, until eventually we came across a little restaurant called "Il Rovescio" (which means "backwards," or "wrong way"). What attracted us most about the place was its menu which consisted of locally produced, mainly organic, foods as well as the cosy vibes that seemed to be pouring out of its buzzing interior. For those of you that don't know me personally, I am one to spend, what some may consider, an excessive amount of time in supermarkets checking the labels of products and deliberating over their origins; I do this with food and with cosmetic products and sometimes shopping can be a bit of an ordeal. I like to cook my own food (that way you know exactly what you're putting into your mouth) and to eat healthily, and where possible/worth the extra cost, I try to buy organic/responsibly sourced products. This could explain why I am always broke. Anyway you can understand my delight when I found this place.

So this little gem is located on a little street that branches off of Via del Pratello, and the idea is that they are a "ristorante a KM 0" cioè, serve locally produced foods.
They do their grocery shopping where I do mine every Saturday morning (at the Mercato della Terra about which I will dedicate a separate post to soon) and their menus change frequently, offering whatever fruit and veg is in season (which is another of their many charms in my opinion).

They also have a little pizza place called Il Forno del Rovescio, which serves wholegrain crust pizzas (as well as normal, white ones) with no additives, organic wines and beers, and a couple of other dishes that you can take away or have delivered to your front door. I ordered a pizza from them once to give it a try and was told that mine would take a while as they had just had another order and their means of delivery is by bicycle! Luckily, Bologna is rather small so it only took about half an hour anyway!

The only down-side that comes to mind is that, when my sister and I were there, a lot of their dishes were out of stock (it sounded like they had had a bit of a fridge problem so this could be why). I do appreciate it is difficult to effectively stock up for an organically themed menu, where things no doubt tend to go off much quicker etc. but it was a bit disappointing all the same. I'd say, if you're going to a small, independent restaurant that offers organic foods, be ready for them not to be able to offer everything on the menu - and see it more as a positive thing! Worth noting that everything that was available was great.
[A dinner would cost you around 20-30 euros per person including drinks.]

So there we have it; a cosy little venue that adds a bit of a twist to traditional Bolognese food; if they claim to be backwards, then backwards is definitely the way forward.