Saturday, October 28, 2006

Films I'm going to see this Autumn

Went to buy tickets for Liffe yesterday and was a little disappointed. I had hoped they would at least bring The Queen to Ljubljana, not to speak of Marie Antoinette, but was very much mistaken. As it is now, I'm going to see Volver, Babel and A Prairie Home Companion. And I'm going to see An Inconvenient Truth at the cinema in a few days' time.

At least that's something... even though I've been longing to see The Queen. Should have seen it while I was in London - serves me right for being such a tight-fisted person so as to deem the cinema tickets there too expensive!

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posted by Nadezhda | 11:09 | 5 comments

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Films I'd like to see this Autumn


Volver - gotta love Almodovar (and Cruz in Almodovar's film),

Babel - mainly because I'm secretly in love with Cate Blanchett and because I like intertwining life-stories,

The Queen - superior in so many ways and Hellen Mirren as the most valuable of the film's assets,

An Inconvenient Truth - after the documentaries about Bush, fast food and killings in high-schools wormed their ways into (mainstream) cinemas, now it's finally the time to be shocked at what we're doing to ourselves,

The Departed - mainly on boyfrined's urging, but the cast is superior and I'd like to see what they've produced;

Marie Antoinette - even though the critics have torn it apart I'm still willing to see it, because I like Coppola's fresh take on a historical figure, and then I'll make up my mind;

The Prestige - I like the cast and am intrigued by the trailer.

Also, I hope The Golden Age is ready to be relased soon - I'm ecstatic just thinking about Cate Blanchett reprising her role. And this time, if the film's any good, she better get that Oscar she was so infamously deprived of in 1998!

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posted by Nadezhda | 12:43 | 4 comments

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Here's why you don't look like that poster girl

Looks like I've gone all video-crazy, but I haven't. This, again, is just too good to miss. Surely as a perceptible, perhaps even impressionable being one quickly learns what our "faults" are. Here's proof that no woman is as perfect in reality. And that you, just as you are, are far more valuable as a friend - because you're not afraid to show your real face.

P.S. I know I'm behind with answering comments, but puting into writing a description of that video as Mitja suggested would take up too much time - the time I don't have at present. Will make up for this absence during the weekend.

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posted by Nadezhda | 17:47 | 2 comments

Friday, October 13, 2006

Surely you did wonder...


...what could make the old and grumpy Miss N, who never looks at anyone but to see a blemish, sigh and mutter: perfect, just perfect.

This video explains well why I almost became a cell/molecular biologist. People who claim they're not perfect clearly forget to take into account the cellular level of their being. And to think that the 10 to the power of thirteen cells of the human body are simultanously active, that almost all of this happens in almost every cell almost all the time... Now, you've got to have respect for your body!

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posted by Nadezhda | 18:21 | 9 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Another year...

... another set of patients. Another year of hospitals full of old, very sick people. Another year full of the polite, but cold, nurses' voices. During the afternoon nap I dreamt of a person who has leukemia, a fact I didn't know when talking to her. It shocked me.

It shocked me even more, because I instinctivelly said she was going to be allright. Not exactly said it, but implied it. I feel guilty.

P.S. You have probably guessed the reason for my absence on the blog. I will try to keep this going, but it might be harder to find the time to write now. The computer's fixed now so I'll be posting photos of good ol' London soon.

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posted by Nadezhda | 16:26 | 2 comments

Friday, October 06, 2006

W.O.M.B.A.T.s atack (again)














So, Lilit, Simon, how did you do? :)

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posted by Nadezhda | 16:58 | 3 comments

Thursday, October 05, 2006

I hate whiners...

...which makes me highly unpopular in certain circles.

And I hate whiners because they are not doers, but cry-babies who need lots of attention, dedication and time, but give you nothing (apart from exhaustion). They usually cannot be relied on and only know you when they need you. I dislike whiners because instead of taking up a challenge, instead of trying to do something against all odds, instead of trying to do something, even if they're bound to fail (doing that), they sit comforably on their backsides and plunge into long and tedious conversations where they try to explain as fully as possible why something isn't possible.

From the life I've seen so far I can very assuredly say: you don't fail until you give up. Whiners give up the same moment a task is bestowed upon them. Whiners would (or appear so) like to do something, but instead of plucking up their courage, they give up on level zero, perhaps because it would too greatly inconvenience them to actually do what they claim to want to do. Or maybe they just don't believe in themselves.

Surely one knows a person who's been claiming half her/his life (s)he wanted to drop weight, but they never do anything. When they promise to exercise, they start their best couch- potato- imitation-mode (complete with a TV remote and a bag of crisps), when they shouldn't be eating chocolates they whine about being unable to give up chocolate etc. Their range of excuses and blindness (regarding their own actions) never ceases to amaze.

On top of such contradictory behaviour which has great pottential to unnerve a rational, responsible person, they often demand your praise and when you're not most keen to approve, they quickly either tell you you're not being kind and understanding with relation to their case or tell you off for being a bad, bad girl. If, by chance, they can hurt a member of your family/your intelligence/your achievements in the same go, they'll probably take their chances. (I wonder what the outcome was if the same dogged determination one employs in seeking revenge was applied to achieving one of their "goals"...)

In my book, life has never been easy. And even it if could be, I tried to get the most out of a situation. If I didn't believe this, I would never get up at 3 a.m. (at age 15 to study), would never choose medicine (as opposed to languages, which come almost naturally to me), would never attend ballet classes or start jogging on a regular basis, read so many books and tried to see as much of the world as I could. I wouldn't even keep a blog. For me, the winners in life are the ones who keep going, even if they're making small steps, even if they sometimes fail. People who are unable to persevere through the dull, the painful and the difficult never really see the beautiful.

Life hasn't been as easy as it could be for me. (Very, very cliche of me to point it out, but there you go.) I'm still fairly young but already I had to deal with four major disappointments - those of the sort that take a year and more to deal with. But I'm not crumbling, and at most times I'm not complaining. I grit my teeth, bring out my best and do it. True, there are moments when all you want to do is wallow in self-pity, but what really defines you as a person is that a strong, confident person will take a minute, then stand up and be ready to shoulder her burden, a whiner will just sit a bit longer to think what the most plausible excuse would be. The saddest part of the story is that whiners slowly begin to believe they're right. And when you try to point out that the circumstances are not so dire, that only a little bit more could be done, you get tagged - either you're the loser who has no personal life or you're a workaholic or control-freak of other sorts.

In any case - yes, let's finally establish this point: I like strong, confident people. I have great understanding for people whose life took an unpleasant turn and they'd like to change it. However, I have absolutely no compassion or understanding for people who decide not to do anything about their situation and wait for the situation to improve by itself. In the meantime they spend many an hour complaining how nobody understands them and how difficult it is for them.

I'm not devoid of all feeling, either. If I were, I wouldn't be helping in a hospice, I wouldn't decide to be a doctor, most probably a child psychiatrist. I wouldn't try to be there for people, to offer advice and support. I wouldn't be able to offer my condolences, my eyes wouldn't wet when listening to a personal story. But I refuse to accept people who try to hide from reality and they pretend it doesn't exist.

Fullstop. The end of venting.


DISCLAIMER: the going-ons over at Gaby's blog have nothing to do with the content of this article. Her post only served as a motivation to let out steam regarding my real-life experiences with a type of people I call whiners. I don't know Gaby in person and would never dare make such conclusions as are presented here. These, however are real experinces with people I've known a long time.

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posted by Nadezhda | 16:05 | 10 comments

Sunday, October 01, 2006

New W.O.M.B.A.T.s!

A while ago I showed you my W.O.M.B.A.T. (Wizards' Oridnary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test) Grade 1 test results and now I'm happy to inform you that Grade 2 is online. This is for a limited time only, so please proceed with your test paper now if you want to be considered for marking.

Information on how to get to the test here.

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posted by Nadezhda | 12:48 | 6 comments