James Blake – A limit to your love

A hot song, just make sure to pump up the base.

Did you enjoy it?

David August – Moving Day

David August – Moving Day I am loving this song right now!  Well, it is more like last month mode.

Hope you enjoy the bass!

Vancouver on my mind!

New Paul Kalkbrenner

Here is some new music from Paul Kalkbrenner!

In Halifax, Nova Scotia

Here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, writing to you from the Delta Halifax hotel with a narrow view of the bay and a little part of Citadel Hill.

There is a write up in the local newspaper, The Chronicle Herald, about David Henry.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1235240.html

It is cold here at the moment, but things are going alright, meeting new people and new family as well as reflecting on many things, including David Henry.

My hood, at night.

my hood

I miss you Yasemin…

The Man in the Middle

The Man in the Middle with his cat-like quickness. Koh Lanta, Thailand.

“Give him a break.” I’d say to myself as I looked across the court at my teammate.  Between points, the players would take short glances across the sand towards the Andaman Sea at the red volleyball shaped celestial object sinking into the horizon.  Unlike the sun, the man in the middle wasn’t sinking and fading away into the sand beneath his feet, as his court presence was constant and reliable for the duration of the game. This was because he never moved from the center position in front of the net, which is usually reserved for a tall athletic player. He wasn’t a distraction but rather a memorable point for the players to focus on, bringing fear into the minds of the opposing team as he stood often so still he looked like a suntanned statue built in nearby Saladan.  He just didn’t look the part.  He was wearing a football jersey after all. For him to be there, on the beach volleyball sand was like seeing a pig trying to swim.  He looked like he should be sitting in a beach chair with a beer in hand, watching his children play in the lapping waves. He was, though, a calming figure that didn’t move his feet any more than to catch his balance and to prevent himself from falling.  After a few points were played it was more and more evident that he was flexible and agile enough to be a strong competitor showing us his two left feet didn’t prevent him from making great sets.
Mentally, I was asking him to rotate (“Stop being a permanent setter…”) and adapt to us foreigners trying to take over the game and win. Perhaps we should have trusted his presence, as it was his land, his beach, his court. Others would have thought the same, I imagine, but even if one spoke out against his style of play, the words would have most likely been misunderstood or maybe he wouldn’t have even tried to understand.  After all, he knew what he was doing.  He knew how to play the game – using his hands while jumping no higher than a small toad.  In volleyball, this inability may prove to be a major hindrance, but not with this man – it was his advantage and his strength. With six players equally rotating around the court like clockwork as points traded sides, the man in the middle refused to move from the center position, sitting tight and attempting to appear larger than he was. This was his hidden strategic move to scare our opponents.  It worked. Using his cat-quick hands (see picture) and his court-sense, he helped our team to victory and the man in the middle was as happy as we were to watch the sun gravitate beneath the silver blue ocean horizon.

Fun photos from Germany

Some photos from the last month Dec 2010- Jan 2011, selected from my phone.

Flood at local Peißnitz Park - this is normally open green space with both a basketball court and soccer to the right.

"Junkers" hot water heater. Halle, Germany

Berlin train ad

Yasemin's aliean art

Daniel @ a drop/pick up box for DHL packages in Paulus Viertel. Halle.

Hospital lobby optical illusion wall?

This photo makes me calm.

Ice Skating in Berlin

Wasser Turm, Halle

A "gift for my soul" from one of my students. A 1977 bottle of French wine.

Table/tap water is not given for free in Germany (they always want you to buy carbonated water) and at the Brauhaus in Halle, I had to beg the waitress for it, and it was only 100ml at that. Is it such a problem to get a glass of tap water?

I am heading to Thailand in 2 days.  I hope to be drinking that 1977 bottle of wine on the beach.

Winter Frost – Halle, Germany

Good weekend to you!
Heading home last night from my colleague’s farewell party, I noticed a fog settling in on the city and temperatures had dropped a few degrees.  Cold air with a lot of moisture results in frost accumulation.  With no precipitation and working through the night hours, mother nature crystallized the moisture in the air to create some interesting designs on the trees.
After stretching myself out of bed, and forcing myself to face the below zero temperature (not as cold as Ottawa at the moment, though) I was able to capture the diamond encrusted trees in the small park neighbouring my flat.

Below are the resulting photos of morning (10:30am) frost in Halle, Germany.

Tree frost with Street Car in background

Can you spot my bicycle in the pic?

I like this!

and now, my favourite…

My favourite.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Hello 2011

Hello 2011.

“What really ruins our characters is the fact that none of us looks back over his life. We think about what we are going to do, and only rarely at that, and fail to think about what we have done, yet any plans for the future are dependent on the past.”
…from Seneca’s Letter LXXXIII to Lucilius.

I look back to the creation of this blog back in November 2006, and it purpose was to inform others about what I was doing abroad, tell stories and post pictures, now have I forgotten it?  Take some time to reflect and ponder the process that led you to where you are in life.

Paris, March 2010

I am in -2 celcius Halle tonight and heading to a colleague’s farewell party, as she is going to Vietnam to teach German for 6 months.

 

Madrugada – Definition: “Dawn” in Spanish song

“What is on your mind”

A nice song for the times with family and friends with warm greetings of Dawn.