Journal entries tagged "Random"
Two weeks later, still intrigued
Something is in the air, one might say. Or perhaps something about it speaks directly to my inner self. Whatever the reason, London never ceases to surprise me in a positive way, and feelings of attachment have grown within the heart of a person otherwise indifferent to large cities.
Another poet’s soul captured by an immortal city, perhaps? I did write a poem about the Serpentine lake, a magnet pulling all visitors towards its shores in Hyde Park and the Kensington Gardens:
Serpentine Song
Glitter, glitter, Serpentine,
May your birdsong grow, may your surface shine
In the light of day, you have frozen time
With an air so sweet that it tastes sublimeWhisper, whisper, Serpentine,
Such a mystic view makes you seem divine
When you speak to the trees, to the rose and lime,
Nature bows to the sound of your glorious chimeRemember, remember, Serpentine,
I shall always cherish this memory of mine.
It is worth stating that the mere writing of a poem about a place is not enough for me to fall in love with the place. As such, we must dig deeper to understand my sudden appreciation of this metropolis.
Good-bye Brussels, Hello London!
It’s been just over 50 hours since I arrived in London, but I have already taken a liking to where I am, the Hampstead Residence, and to the inner parts of the city, where I’ll be studying.
On the one side of the Hampstead Residence, walking for one minute will land you amidst Aston Martins, Jaguars and even the odd Rolls Royce, in an area of architectural magnificence. Rich, peaceful and quiet are the adjectives one might attribute to this zone.
On the other side, around Finchley Road, a squirrel hides from the busy traffic, seeking refuge in the green areas. The architecture is no longer grand but more heterogeneous, and during the 15-minute walk separating the Hampstead Residence from Finchley Road Tube Station (10 if you keep a good pace), residential areas mingle with shops.
Supermarkets are generally also 15 minutes away at a “student” walking pace, which makes for good exercise if done regularly.
Saving one’s future reputation
Having realised that most reputations are destroyed on the basis of embarrassing information published after a person gains a reputation, I believe that publishing such information before gaining a reputation may be a way of avoiding later damage of one’s reputation. Indeed, the act of making the information public means that people can have access to it, and the “new” character of the information is negated. Moreover, by making such information public, a person shows that he/she can be honest about his/her past, something that isn’t always easy after gaining a reputation.
As such, I have compiled a list of six events “potentially most damaging to my reputation”. Brace yourselves for an insight in Peter’s past.
Disclaimer: not suitable for serious people. Those people should instead check Peter’s CV.
Read the rest of this entry »
Easter Island in June
The other day, we took a plane to Chili, before hopping into a plane for a direct flight from Santiago to the Easter Island. All in all, it was a long journey, somewhat tedious, but the anticipation and excitement set aside concerns relating to comfort and so on.
However, as we approached the island, we realised that we couldn’t get a nice view of the small place from above. As such, as soon as we landed, we convinced a helicopter pilot to bring us out and back in again.
As the helicopter circled a few kilometres off the island, hovering above a glittering sea, we picked up our cameras and took our first series of shots of the island, and were lucky to see some lava pour down from the still active volcano.
Obama, a universal metaphor?
There’s a nice expression in French: “à toutes les sauces”, which means that something has been or can be used for all purposes. Another expression is “à tort et à travers”, similar in its general idea, but with a stronger accent on the inappropriate character of certain uses.
Today, it seems that the example of the new President of the United States is being employed “à toutes les sauces”, sometimes even “à tort et à travers”: I have heard people mention him in religious, political, economic, legal and social contexts. Could it be that his person and message have become a universal metaphor?
Caught in the web
So many hours spent on the internet!
Whether for work or for leisure, I seem to spend my days online, from looking up legal translations of terminology to accessing documents, from checking news websites to asking the almighty Google for tutorials and trivia. It is both a blessing and a curse.
I feel addicted. Yet, fortunately, I’m still able to play board games, play music, read books, …, without feeling the urge to touch a computer.
I wonder: will future generations in our computerised world even have the luxury of not using the web the whole while that they are awake?
Thoughts to be read worldwide
A question that nagged at my mind a few times these past months was what makes people use Twitter, WordPress and other such services.
Why blog? Why tweet? Why change status every day on Facebook?
My analysis is biased, as I favour blogs over Twitter pages and Facebook activity, but I might as well post my thoughts. Who knows, they might some day be read worldwide.
Humour and culture
Hi, my name is Peter (“Hi Peter”), and I’m a foreigner (“Good for you!”). I’ve been away from my native country for sixteen years, and have grown up in a hybrid, multicultural environment.
Sesame Street and English books formed an integral part of the upbringing of my sister and myself, while Ici Bla-Bla and other TV programmes in French were our source of entertainment.
This lasted until my sister and I discovered with great horror that many of these (films and series) were dubbed, and we turned towards the British (BBC 1&2) and Flemish (VTM, VT4, KanaalTwee [now 2BE], VijfTV) TV channels.
Christmas comes
I’m sure you’ve noticed it, but Christmas is on its way. Well, it seems to have appeared on arpia.be a few days in advance, despite the studying. A little touch, just enough to remind me of the fact that it is going to be a time for getting together, as a family, as friends, and so on.
Yay, presents & such. Rats, exams. Bother.
For all those who can relax, enjoy your holidays and the Christmas spirit (if there is anything of the kind).
News wrap: coseismal
Many things have happened these past days or will happen in a few days, and I thought I might as well write about them all in one go: King’s College’s conditional offer, studying for exams, watching an idiotic film, the announcement of a lack of a keynote by Steve Jobs at Macworld, the impending launch of MacHeist III, an interview at Allen & Overy for a summer internship and solving a legislation problem for the year below at university.
All of these are completely unrelated, yet somehow linked in time. And when you write the bolded letters together, it gives the word “coseismal” (“relating to points on the earth’s surface affected by an earthquake simultaneously”). Coincidence? I think not! We’re doomed!