Thursday, 12 December 2013

Incongruent House Part 2

As promised, here are several more pictures that show a glimpse of what it is like to live with my family.

This little stowaway hid in my hood for some time before I realized he was there!
One Saturday morning I entered my Mum's bedroom and saw this scene unfold before my eyes on my parents' bed: the valiant Porridge mounting on his elegant steed Xoc confronting the dangerous Iupi.
Just another normal, everyday lunch...
"Colze" means "elbow" in Catalan.  My Mum thought it hilarious to place her elbow on it to show what it meant, just in case someone might miss the meaning. :P
I don't remember when I did this... maybe a couple of years ago when we were studying Analysis for Math. The thing is that it looked so pretty and I had had such fun doing it that I took a picture of it once I finished it. 
One early Autumn day I went out for an afternoon walk. Xoc insisted on coming with me, so I couldn't say "no". What choice does one have when Xoc looks at you with those melting brown eyes?
There are still two more posts coming up, so stay tuned!

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Incongruent House Part 1

Now that the wedding pictures are finished and sent, I have had more time to dedicate to personal projects and obligations. One of these has been getting my external HD Passport in order (I am very picky about everything having its own spot and everything being classified).

When I came to classify all the photography accumulated throughout seven years I found several pictures that just about show what kind of a family we are: a bunch of crazy, chaotic (some soon-to-be) engineers. As the saying runs, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will leave you to judge for yourself. [grin]

However, as I have lots of pictures, I will post them by parts.

One day I entered my bedroom just to find my rabbit Ninin trying my summer shoes on.
The paper reads "How NOT to fall asleep in the middle of reading a book". 

Making good use of our whiteboard during Saturdays...
Fashionable mandarin...
Elephant mandarin, my Dad's specialty.
Hum... not sure what happened there. He lost his face among the teddy bears.
Leopard socks... my Mum knows my predilection for sock that are out-of-the-normal-ish. 
More to come soon! :D

Sunday, 8 December 2013

Memories

I've just found the pictures I took of the design I painted on my school bag when I went back to public school. It seems like yesterday, but it was really five years ago... wow.

I wish I could design things like this again!




Saturday, 23 November 2013

Perseverance For Food

Talk about having patience, eh?


Thursday, 21 November 2013

Expresiones Colombianas

Some weeks ago I had the opportunity of leafing through an old traveling notebook. I had left it in Romania back in August due to luggage limitations, and while I was there in October I took the chance to look through all the chaotic lists, cluttered ideas and random phrases scattered on the pages throughout it. Need I say I re-lived past situations and laughed over funny memories? I found some treasures in there and tore several pieces of papers so that I could take them back home with me.

One of these treasures was a list of Colombian expressions I wrote down during my stay in Colombia. The ladies and the girls I spent my time with during my trip there used idioms I had never heard of before, or idioms that I had only heard from my Colombian friends. I started writing down the ones I didn't know, and one day I had Raquel sit down with me over a cup of tinto and define them for me. I ended up writing a small dictionary of Colombian idioms, a small sample of which I leave you here.
  • BACANO: palabra que indica que algo es divertido, que gusta, que "mola".
  • CHÉVERE: ver bacano.
  • CHINAMENTA: conjunto de chinas.
  • CHINO/CHINA: muchacho o muchacha.
  • CHUSCO: de buen parecer.
  • ¡GUÁCALAS!: expresión de asco ante una cosa desagradable.
  • HECHO UN OCHO: caótico, confuso.
  • ¡PREPÁRESE UN TINTO!: expresión de aviso de que lo que sucederá a continuación será impresionante o impactante
  • SACAR LA PIEDRA: hacer enfadar, dar rabia.
  • SARDINA: muchacha adolescente.
  • SALIR CON UN CHORRO DE BABAS: hacer el ridículo cuando algo sale mal.
I pray that someday I will be able to go back and continue discovering expressions...

Tuesday, 19 November 2013

Aaawww


There's a polar bear running towards me! *x*

Monday, 18 November 2013

My Brother Loves Me...


...and because my hair is curly, and quite the picture when I get up, he came to me one day and said,  
"Look, Anna! This is you at 7 a.m.!"

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Rima XVI

Si al mecer las azules campanillas
de tu balcón
Crees que suspirando pasa el viento
murmurador,
Sabe que oculto entre las verdes hojas
suspiro yo.

Si al resonar confuso a tus espaldas
vago rumor
Crees que por tu nombre te ha llamado
lejana voz,
Sabe que entre las sombras que te cercan
te llamo yo.

Si te turba medroso en la alta noche
tu corazón
Al sentir en tus labios un aliento
abrasador,
Sabe que, aunque invisible, al lado tuyo
respiro yo.
- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Thursday, 14 November 2013

For Your Enjoyment

Easy listening music has always been a favourite of mine - it doesn't have words, you can play it in low volume, you don't have to pay attention to it, and yet it makes your work easier by creating a pleasant and cheerful atmosphere.

For your enjoyment, I shall present you with a few of my favourites:





This is just a quick selection... I have so many folders and collections I could not choose one song from each! Hope you like 'em.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Where God Is

Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Deuteronomy 4:39
Where is God? Unbelievers sometimes ask it contemptuously, while believers ask it when overwhelmed by tragedy, trial and sorrow. Where is God? Let the Bible tell you.
God is above His people:  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
Psalm 91:1-4
Beneath His people: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."
Deuteronomy 33:27
Before His people: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night."
Exodus 13:21
Behind His people: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left"
 Isaiah 30:21
Around His people: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."
Psalm 34:7
With His people: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Isaiah 41:10
"(...) and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
Matthew 28:20
And within His people: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
John 14:23
Be assured that whatever your circumstance God is above, beneath, before, behind, around, with, and within you.
-W. Ross Rainey
Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you. -Civilla D. Martin

For a very long time this November 25th's Daily Reading (I have no idea from what year... 2008-2009 or so, I think) has been kept in my Bible as a reminder of the Lord's care for us and His presence in a believer's life. As an added thought, I penned down back then Acts 17:28, the first part of which says, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." I read this small piece of paper about a week ago again, and was so very encouraged by it that I told myself I should share it.

I hope it may also be of use and encouragement to any reader that happens to be visiting!

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Typerwriter Symphony Orchestra


Yesssssss! I should learn how to play the typerwriter!

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Brand Logos and Watermarks

Yay, peoples, I've finally finished designing my brand! [hugesmile]

This is how it's gonna look for now. I am satisfied with the results, but I'm sure that in time I will change it when I get a more definite idea of what I want.

Tell me what you think about it. I used the colours I wanted - red, black and white (grey included in the last two [grin]). I wanted the name to be in two circles, although at first I wanted it to be in between them and not touching both. I liked the result of the second when I tried it.

I wanted the text to be classy and elegant, but clean and simple, so I went for caps, distinguishing between capitalized and normal in the text with large or small caps. Then, I tried different combinations of the theme colours for the circles, and this one (top) is the one that satisfied me most, even though red for the outside and white for the inside also worked very well when I tried it on a dark background. 

Then I started to play with colours and backgrounds for the watermarks. In the first sample I did (right), I really liked the black on white, extremely disliked the grey on red and the red on grey, and wasn't sure about the white on black.

For the second sample (left), I tried to get out of the theme colours - I really like the pink on black, the dark blue on grey and the orange on white. Not sure how I feel about the white on red.

It seems like I can't get an idea for a good colour for the red background. Any suggestions?

Seashells and Thoughts

On Friday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and drove to the beach for a walk with my dear Aunt, who is visiting us from England. While there I had time to think, and once home I wrote down the summary of my thoughts.

Excerpt from my book:
I used that opportunity to check for seashells for a project I have in mind. It is quite difficult and discouraging during this time of the year because I need a very specific type, size and shape of seashell, and there aren't that many around (perhaps I found three that met the conditions). (...) 
As I was searching among the piles and groups of shells, I saw several broken ones to which I didn't glance a second time. I was alone, a bit behind the rest of the group, so I had time to think. As I searched and checked for good samples, I realized that during my long "career" as a seashell collector, I had always discarded those shells which were broken or had some imperfection (unless that added to its "interestingness", which was seldom). Immediately I thought of that verse in Isaiah 42:3, the first part of which runs, 
"A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench."
I was so thankful that moment for the Lord's mercy, for God's love and care towards me in spite of my brokenness and utter imperfection! If He were to follow that other attitude, who would yet live? For "there is none that doeth good, no, not one"! (Psalm 14:3, second part). But praises be to the Father who loved us enough as to send His only Son, who, "by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14). We may be broken, full of flaws and sin, but through our Lord's sacrifice we are made perfect!
What love!!! 
I just thought I would share that part of my journal with you... [smile].

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

On Weddings and Photography

Once again you find me in Romania. Wondering why I haven't been posting for some time? I always have a ready excuse. [wink] For the past month or more I have been preparing myself to photograph my third wedding - meaning, hurriedly finishing unfinished photography projects, studying and pouring over photography and wedding books and webpages, all this combined with the usual housework, teaching job, and... not so much sleep.

A couple of days ago, as I was working with the bride on her big day, I commented, "Well, there's always a first for everything!" And this was my very first Romanian wedding. Oh, what a pleasure it was to work with this couple! I enjoyed it very much and hope it won't be the last!

I can't give you a sneak-peek yet... due to luggage limitations, I don't have my computer whit me, so 'till I go home I won't be able to start working with the pictures. Furhtermore, the bride and groom are to be the first ones to see the pictures, so it will still take some time yet.

'Till then, I will leave you and the computer to enjoy my time here with my sweetheart. Here's another excuse for my future absence! [bigsmile]

Tuesday, 27 August 2013

But For Now...

...I've become a tad bit melancholic and I guess I miss my darling...

Sunday, 25 August 2013

Carmel Acappella Singing Vivaldi´s Spring

Tornada de les meves vacances a Romania, i mentre m'organitzo i organitzo les possibles històries que pugui penjar, us deixo amb aquest quintet. És força fascinant.


Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Wannabe Crònica

A principis d'hivern vam començar a fer proves d'exàmens de Selectivitat a Llengua Catalana. Aquell dia havia acabat abans d'hora un exemplar on hi havia una crònica titulada Estrelles i Diamants a Nova York que em va barrufar molt (sí, Lara, me l'has enganxat. Gràcies :P), i enduta per la inspiració i pels records frescos d'unes vacances ben merescudes a Romania vaig començar a escriure el que llegireu a continuació.
Aquest escrit va començar volent ser una imitació de l'estil de la reportera que l'havia escrit, Bibiana Ballbè. Malauradament, en el procés d'escrit crec que ha evolucionat un pèl i no sé si acaba de cenyir-se al gènere de crònica.

Dedicat als meus dos acompanyants d'aquella nit, el Daniel i la Georgiana, i és clar, al meu professor de Llengua Catalana i Literatura, Jordi! Sé que m'he fet esperar, però aquí ho tens!

Without further ado...

***************************************************************************

Fa fred. Estic segura que tinc el nas més vermell que el color del cel ara que es pon el sol, i fa estona que he deixat de notar les orelles. Quins acudits, recollir-se els cabells en aquest clima! Ara bé, és poc pràctic patinar sobre gel amb la cabellera solta.

L'aire és fresc i pur, quelcom  normal i esperat aquí, però la seva fredor crema en inspirar a través del nas. Cada cop que surt aire per la meva boca es forma un nuvolet tímid que ben aviat es congela sobre la bufanda que porto cobrint-me mitja cara. La temperatura és hostil i agressiva, però la pista està plena de gent gaudint dels encants de l'hivern.

Ara que ve la nit, és interessant veure quin tipus de gent es queda més estona, i qui marxa. Mares o pares surten per la porteta carregant un nen petit, o agafats de la mà de criatures cansades. En picar de peus al terra de goma per espolsar el gel enganxat a la fulla del patí el deixen ben brut, i segurament relliscós.

Els que queden som persones ben diverses. Ben a la vora un xicot patina pacientment i lenta al costat de la seva noia, que s'aferra més a la tanca que no pas a la seva mà mentre aprèn a patinar. De tant en tant el noi, tot murri, s'aprofita de la seva inestabilitat per agafar-la per la cintura o abraçar-la per darrere. Que bonic.

Donant voltes per la pista incansablement hi ha la parella experimentada que sembla fer-los-hi la guitza mentre salten, donen voltes a l'aire i cauen, amb tal gracilitat que no semblen fets de carn i ossos, sinó de goma. Una mica més enllà, lents i agafant-se de la mà - que romàntic, penso -, hi ha un senyor i una senyora grans que patinen amb prou elegància. Com enganyen les aparences!

I jo... jo he vingut amb una amiga i un amic, però tots tres ens hem separat, cadascú al seu ritme. De tant en tant, patino al costat de la meva amiga tot xerrant, i després coincidim tots tres en algun lloc de la pista. Llavors comentem la jugada d'algun patinador, o l'estat del gel. Després d'una estona descansant i xerrant, tornem a voltar...

Al centre de la pista hi ha un grapat de nois joves que aprofiten l'espai lliure per experimentar i fer una mica el ruc. En diuen free style. Entre ells hi ha el meu amic, amb els pantalons tant mullats de les vegades que ha caigut que m'agafa fred només de veure-ho.

Segueixo donant voltes tot i observant, de vegades lentament, atenta als moviments tècnics d'algun expert. D'altres, al ritme de la música, perduda en algun món imaginari, inconscient del que m'envolta. Llavors desperto. Miro i em fixo en el que hi ha al meu voltant, notant-ho tot, cada olor, cada rialla, cada moviment, cada onada d'aire glaçat, i resto convençuda de la idealitat del moment, sabent que estic en el lloc i el moment perfectes.

Somric a l'aire.

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Qui té el peix?

  1. Hi ha cinc cases, cada una d'un color diferent. En cada casa hi viu una persona, cada una d'una nacionalitat diferent.
  2. Cada propietari prefereix una beguda, fuma una marca en concret, i té una mascota que cap altre propietari té.
  3. QUI TÉ EL PEIX?
Fets:
  • El britànic viu en la casa vermella.
  • El suec té un gos.
  • El danès beu te.
  • La casa verda està a l'esquerra de la casa blanca.
  • El propietari de la casa verda beu cafè.
  • La persona que fuma Pall Mall cria ocells.
  • La persona que viu en la casa groga fuma Dunhill.
  • El propietari de la casa del mig beu llet.
  • El noruec viu en la primera casa.
  • L'home que fuma Blends viu al costat del propietari d'un gat.
  • El propietari del caball viu al costat de l'home que fuma Dunhill.
  • El fumador de Bluemasters beu cervesa.
  • L'alemany fuma Prince.
  • El noruec viu al costat de la casa blava.
  • El fumador de Blends té un veí que beu aigua. 
Apa, qui s'anima? :D

Thursday, 18 July 2013

Sonet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
 Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

- William Shakespeare