Washington, District of Columbia - three days May 2010: Uniquely worldly while still unmistakably American.

The map of flights in the in-flight magazine of United Airlines shows five flight connection hubs in USA: LA and San Francisco on the West coast, Denver and Chicago midland USA, and Washington DC alone serving the East coast. Although strictly speaking two of the three international Washington airports are in the state of Virginia and one in the state of Maryland, (the neighbouring states are a few metro stops away) they are all considered to be “Washington DC airports” and two are overseen by Washington DC authorities. There are also a few smaller domestic and private airports within the same radius. What that means is that if you look up to the skies any time while in Washington DC you will always see a few planes taking off or landing. A few of the military jets are also constantly high in the sky with their long white tails of vapours, and there must also be some that cannot be seen with a naked eye. Add to that some serious-looking non-recreational helicopters that suddenly appear and zip away over your head every now and then, and you will get the picture of the WDC skies.

А может можно просто нам любить?

На тему Марины Цветаевой

"Мне нравится, что вы больны не мной" 1915

Я слышу вас, что вы, увы, больны не мной.
Я слышу вас, печаль прикрытую словами.
Улыбка, побеждёная судьбой.
Улыбка, с грустными глазами.

Я улетаю (June 2010)

Я улетаю – ничего нового,
Бесконечные стихи про это написаны
Я оставляю – ничего весёлого...
На душе романтичная тоска повисла.

Сердце маятник (May 2010)

Сердце маятник
Сердце мается
То ликует оно,
То терзается.

Stockholm May 2010

The clouds are no different, but the sky occasionally is of a particular hue of blue that I had not seen elsewhere. It is the kind of pale blue that matches the Scandinavian palette of pale woods, and harmonizes so well with the colours of the houses, early blooming trees and flowers and the dark cold gray Baltic waters.

Dreams of Freedom (11 April 10)

If only like in years past
Today was all there was
And time stood still for choices made
With no regard for loss

Я опять за столом (06 Apr)

Я опять за столом,
Не за обеденным, а за письменным
Я в знакомой среде
Где тонны бумаги исписаны

Trust is like a crystal (05 Feb 10)

Trust, like a crystal, starts pure and fragile
Then it grows, absorbing impurities
Which either make it stronger and agile,
Or hide a weakness that later will ruin it.

Like different crystals, in different people
Trust is brittle or tough, sparkling or dull.
But no matter how strong,
Once cracked, its undone.

Last night I lived Flamenco singing (29 Jan 10)

Last night I lived Flamenco singing.
In a dark club full of people,
All eyes in silence fixed on a small stage
Lit with dim red and blue shades
And a white spotlight on the singer’s young thin long face.

Я лечу на воздушном шаре... (29 Oct 09)

Я лечу на воздушном шаре
Не лечу а скольжу,
Сквозь холодный утренний воздух,
Над полями и над садами
Под сонными томными облаками
Сквозь стеклянную тишину
На встречу восходящему солнцу
Я улыбаюсь…. я парю….

Mоя душа (My soul) (20 Oct 09)

Я свою душу совсем не знаю
Kакого она цвета, формы, материала, полотна?
В чём её источник силы, страсти, горя?
Что ей кажется, а что наверняка?

But that’s the spirit of living (02 Aug 09) (personal favourite)

Written in reply to : “If I could live again”
(The true author of that German poem is unknown; the original text in German and translation follow my poem)

I won’t win all the battles
I won’t even get to fight them all
And my heart won’t ever be free
From the battle scars, when in peace I come home.
But that’s the spirit of living…

missing... (Apr 09)

Ты где то там, в тени кафе,
внимаешь сладость туристического мира,
и пишешь письма и открытки
семье, друзям и может даже мне

to V (11 Oct 09)

Прости меня, за то недоразумение
В которoe я был невольно вовлечён
Меня несло судьбы течение
Хоть мне казалось что выбирал я путь и грёб веслом

Я так хочу домой (23 May 09 - Toronto)

Я так хочу домой,
домой где некуда спешить
где жизнь застыла
и можно простo быть

Toronto - where the meaning to be was found... (16 Sep 08)

Toronto: отшельничество душевное... смена обстановки:

как в море изборозденым кораблями,
я в новом городе прокладываю путь
не внемля картам ловлю я парусами
тот ветер что очистит жизни муть.

The good things about Toronto: Multiculturalism, Tolerance, Arts and Canadianism (and a few other little things).

The uncertainty of transient existence while being a fellow in Toronto can be stressful. Being human I fell into a trap of “things back home”. On reflection, I decided to write about all the positive things Toronto is that make it a great place to be.

Toronto is a statement to multiculturalism. In my group of ten fellows there are two bilingual Saudi Muslims, one bilingual Indian Hindu, two Irish Catholics who live above "Pogue Mahone" Irish pub and know how it translates into English, one bilingual German Catholic, one Greek Orthodox who speaks three languages fluently and lived everywhere but Greece, one Canadian Mormon and one Russian Australian Jew with a fairly good sense of identity which in true radiology spirit is definitely somewhere in between. There is also a Korean research fellow. Two or us drink Guinness, one drinks anything including boiled wine with sugar, one favours wine and cannot tell the difference between beers, four of us don't drink alcohol at all, one of whom does not even drink tea or coffee, one is a strict vegetarian, and three don't eat pork (well, one will make an exception if it is on a pizza that is shared with others). Despite the challenges, we managed to get together for meals and drinks quite a few times and had a great time!

Mid winter downtown Toronto

Salt. Lots of salt. Salt is on every street. Salt is on every shoe, on every pant, in every hallway. When the streets have been cleaned and the walkways are dry and no more snow is falling, the asphalt is still hazed with the white dust of salt. I imagine soil salinity is not an issue here as it is in Australia.

Being read - being watched

Lots of people commented on my writings. Some liked it more than others. But I did not expect the effect it would have on my other writings.

My writings started on a personal note. A play of mind, an outlet for thoughts of sorts. An intellectual and psychological steam vent: once it is on paper, it is out of mind, making room for more steam that in my case seems to be akin to breathing. “Why do you think so much” they ask me some times. “Because I breath” I think in reply.

30+ cm of snow

So much for the 6 months of scary snow talking by the locals since my arrival here! With all that talk and built up of expectations I was readying myself for the coming winter with visions of doors blocked by snow and declarations of national emergency… and then the snow falls and everyone is distraught! Admittedly driving in such conditions represents a challenge and all journeys take two to three times as long. Still, I thought they would be tougher, or at least not so shocked.

Toronto weather:

During the summer everyone is in a hurry to live it up, with the meal places divided into those with and those without a patio. Dining on a patio in summer is a quintessential Toronto thing to do, just like in Australia searching for a shade in summer. Like the nature, Torontians are bustling in summer to quickly get all the summer experiences before the cold weather hits.

The Apartment on St Patrick Street

Its a new condo building where I was one of the first residents to move in. For those not from North America, the importance of condominiums, also known as a condo, has to be stressed. In simple terms, it is a living unit that is owned by an individual in contrast to an apartment that is typically owned by a company that has many of those and manages them. This individual owner may choose either to live in this condominium, or rent it out. These condos are thus more expensive than apartments and more prestigious. It is considered that living in a condominium you are likely to have better neighbours too, as they are likely to be more affluent and care about the building that belongs to them.

Toronto 1 – Blackberry, coffee and tea

If USA is the Marlborough country, then Toronto is the Blackberry country. I have met many people who are not in the corporate industries and don’t use their Blackberries for emailing, yet still have those bulky devices. It is a culture, much like Apple’s IPod. May be even a status symbol. Those who use it for emailing inevitably become infomaniacs, addicted to reading and replying emails on-the-go.