During the last year, it became clear to me that Europe is a less safe place now than it was 2 years ago, and I didn't know how to deal with that. I was very distressed.
After several months of struggling with fear, I finally found a medicine for it:
DOING something. CREATING something.
Because fear just paralyzes people. It doesn't create anything new.
Remember: in large part, you life doesn't depend on terrorists or Vladimir Putin or your President or Donald Trump or on Chinese politicians. We're very lucky still - our lives mostly depend on ourselves.
And we have lots of good examples in Europeans who knew pretty well what to do with their lives. Wise people, artists, inventors, but also people who just continued the family businesses: good blacksmiths, good seamstresses, good builders.
This way, we've created some amazing stuff:
Beautiful architecture that people from all over the world come to see.
Cheap and healthy and delicious food.
Wonderful works of art.
Most of the sports in the Olympics.
Music that's played all over the world.
Ballroom dances.
Some great board and card games.
Technology inventions: sewing machines, trams, railways, soft contact lenses, Skype...
and don't get me started on science :-D
Why not continue this tradition?
I know, I'm not exactly a brilliant artist or a scientist. But even I can do something. Because creativity doesn't just make you feel better, it encourages others to feel better. And it eradicates fear like nothing else does. And it helps you be proud of yourself. And what if the neighbours' kid notices you, and is inspired, and grows up to be an artist or a scientist? :-)
So I thought of some things to do when fear is overcoming you.
Even when you don't have much money (like me).
Here goes:
Watch old French comedies, spaghetti westerns, films with Sophia Loren, Paul Belmondo...
Play board games with friends
Play with kids
Learn archery or fencing
Go to theatre
Have a beer in an old pub or coffee in a café
Visit an interactive science park
Read books
Dance
Cultivate your garden and if you don´t have a garden, put some flowers in your windows :-)
Visit some exciting places - castles, aquaparks, zoos, museums...
Visit a folklore festival
And the best thing to do:
to chat with people and create something great together, or just have fun! :-)
What did you do
in 2015 that you’d never done before?
Celebrated
32nd birthday :-)
Wrote
to a Czech actor and received not only the autograph I requested, but also a
signed photo as a bonus. This was huge for me because it was Stanislav Fišer,
the dubbing voice of my favourite film character, Vinnetou, who was an example
of a brave, virtuous person to me. The book and film character of my childhood.
Stanislav Fišer is 84 and has lost his voice due to cancer, and I knew I had
to write him and let him know what his work meant to me. And I managed! Hurray!
Heard
an Algonquin language spoken. (These are languages of East Canadian First
Nations.)
Was
asked out by 3 guys in one month. One started to hate me after a terrible
misunderstanding, one I had a great chat with and we became even better friends,
and one learned to behave like a gentleman in the café and is starting to look
like a serious candidate for an important man in my life.
Applied
for a job with a Jewish community. Got the job, but declined the offer.
Met
two people suffering from Narcissist Personality Disorder. Very unpleasant
experience.
Bowled
in a bowling alley. I had actually done that 20 years ago in England, but that
was so long ago that this seemed like the first time to me.
Started
working full time in an office. (Before that, I always either didn’t work full
time or the job wasn’t in an office.)
Saw
a play in Czech in Mahen Theatre, Brno.
Saw
a great spotted woodpecker. It´s much bigger than you´d expect, it´s like seeing a black-and-white hen flying in the trees. (Picture not by me, but from Wikipedia by Sławomir Staszczuk :-) )
Heard
a Japanese person sing in Old Church Slavonic.
Wrote
a long e-mail to my high school literature and history teacher, which wasn’t a
good idea.
Discovered
and fell in love with national dances of Mongolia.
Met
my father’s girlfriend.
Served
as a guide for a Latvian folk dance group in Prague.
Took
part in a parade in the historical centre of Prague, and saw men painted as
statues bow to us :-)
Observed
a partial solar eclipse.
Consulted
a Christian psychologist.
Finally
managed to forgive the criminal who assaulted me on a street in 2010.
Gathered
the courage to tell about this horrible experience to a man.
Visited
an exhibition of contemporary Russian paintings.
Visited
a hockey match.
Translated
an article from a 1934 Latvian newspaper. It was written in the Gothic script.
Translated
a 40-page official document of Latvian Railways. It took 4 days and one
sleepless night.
Visited
a lecture about the Ukrainian front near Donbas by a person who’s been there.
Learned
that a friend whom I’ve known and liked for quite some time is gay.
Heard
the sentence „I’m translating this TV show and have to finish it before 11 p.m.
because it’s running on Estonian TV at midnight.“
Took
part in Secret Santa, a teambuilding activity and a gingerbread cookie baking
party.
Ordered
pizza from home. Well, my friend´s place, anyway.
Did you keep
your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make one this year?
No,
because I always forget them :-)
Did anyone close
to you give birth?
No.
Did anyone close
to you die?
No.
What would you
like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
To
be honest, a boyfriend that loves me. And I would like to keep my friends and
family, if you don’t mind :-)
What countries/states
did you visit?
Stayed
within the good old Czech Republic :-)
What date from
2015 will remain etched upon your memory?
October 26th – the day I started working full time.
Did you move
anywhere?
Oh
yes.Twice. First, to my father´s house for a
couple of months, and then, to the place of my dreams – Brno-Jundrov, between a
river and a forest.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting
accepted for a job in a bank. I didn’t go through any job interview marathon –
I got accepted after the first 2 job interviews. (I declined the first job
offer.) Again! I wish I knew what a job interview marathon feels
like!
Or
better... I wouldn´t. As my sister Hana says: be careful what you wish for.
What was your
biggest failure?
The
two times I got too emotional at work, to great distress of all the people
present. Hoping this was the last time.
Deciding
I don´t want to work at university. But this wasn´t really a failure. It cost
an assistant professor some time and coffee, and it was a disappointment for
him. But I´ve come to the conclusion that I´m not a scholar. And it´s a huge
relief.
Did you suffer
illness or injury?
Thanks
be to God, no. I was almost completely healthy for 8 months, which is a huge
achievement for me, too!
What was the
best thing you bought?
A
sweater that actually suits me :-)
Whose behaviour
merited celebration?
My
sister Hana’s for all sorts of things – for example, being such a great help
when we had to move fast from one house to another without any car. And for
starting to discover herself.
My
uncle Honza´s and cousin Šimon´s, who offered to help me move some of my
furniture.
My
parents’ – my father’s because he’s become an unbelievable person – a nice and
steadfast gentleman who walks some 40 km every month and sleeps in a tent occasionally.
And my mother’s because she’s become the best version of herself and we finally
resolved our issues from 20 years ago.
And
my grandma’s – her husband is 90 and not easy to take care of. He’s all yellow
and apparently suffering from a liver disease, but refuses to visit a doctor.
And
many friends – Elína, Radim, Beth, Gloria, Šárka, Eliška, Bára, Ashley, Petra
– who supported me when I was moving to Brno, and also in my hard times.
Whose behaviour
made you appalled and depressed?
Some
teenagers’ who laughed at me embroidering. What the hell is wrong with
embroidering?
An
Indian guys’ who I had a misunderstanding with over e-mails, and he has pretended I don’t exist ever since.
And a friend´s – not really
her behaviour, but her wedding ceremony at the town hall. I´d only visited Protestant
church weddings that were very festive, guest-friendly and very much about the
couple. They choose the pastor themselves, he has been preparing them for
marriage for several months so he knows them really well, and they choose not
only the music, but also songs for everyone to sing. The wedding ceremony lasts
about 70 minutes.
The town hall wedding only
lasted 15 minutes and was so impersonal that I was almost shocked.
Where did most
of your money go?
Into
keeping myself alive – as usual :-)
What did you get
really, really, really excited about?
Following
Murdoch Mysteries on Facebook and behaving like a crazy fan. It´s a good thing
the show is Canadian, so I can´t pester the scriptwriters and actors :-)
Latvian
figure skater Deniss Vasiljevs. I think he´s very promising.
Visiting
Czech castles and chateaus with my Latvian friend.
And
the possibility that she could live in Brno and work in the same department as
me. It took a lot of effort and time and she was accepted! But then she got a
scholarship so she declined the job offer.
What was the best concert you’ve been to this year?
Aglona Church Choir from Latvia, in March. They
sang in such beautiful, pure voices that I almost thought it´s angels singing,
not people.
What song/album
will always remind you of 2015?
Ram
Jam: Black Betty. That was the song with which Javier Fernandez won the World Figure
Skating Championship in Beijing.
Solla
than Ninaikiren. I don´t know why, but I listened to it a lot. It´s a perfect
example of a nice South Indian music video.
Evanescence:
Wake Me Up Inside. Not the official music video - this version, sung by a Czech
singer, and together with the dance.
Jan
Jirásek: „Marika“ from the film Bolero. It was very symbolic for me this year,
for many private reasons.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
1.happier or
sadder? Insanely happy.
2.thinner or
fatter? Lost 2 kg.
3. richer or poorer? Richer, a bit.
What do you wish
you’d done more of?
Dancing,
singing, reading and praying.
What do you wish
you’d done less of?
Complaining....
Other than that, I can’t think of anything. This year was very well used!
What was your
greatest musical discovery?
Israeli
singer Ofra Haza
How did you spend
Christmas?
December
24th – working, with colleagues playing Christmas songs on their
computer.
December
25th – church in Brno-Židenice, disappointed because the pastor
sounded like a strict teacher, and not at all happy that it´s Christmas. Travelling by train to Český Brod and then a great Christmas Eve with my father
and sister, which I didn´t participate actively in because I was exhausted.
December
26th – travelling to Prague, great time with my family and Latvian
friend at my grandma´s place. Then, got lost when travelling to a different
part of Prague to visit my mom and her boyfriend.
December
27th – ironing clothes and travelling back to Brno.
December
28th – at work again, and a beautiful concert in a church. Christmas
Oratory by J. S. Bach.
Who did you
spend the most time on the phone with?
As always - my mom and my grandma :-)
What was the
best book you read?
Zdeněk
Galuška: Slovácko sa nesúdí. Written in a dialect and very entertaining.
Did you fall in
love in 2015?
Actually,
no, although I dated. It was all his initiative and I just went along with it,
which isn’t my style.
But
I suspect I am gradually falling in love and don’t know if that’s a good or a
bad thing. Pretty scared, but not so much as last year.
What was your
favourite TV show?
Murdoch Mysteries, again :-)
Canadian
drama about a Toronto detective at the turn of the 20th century. It’s my
favourite TV series of them all.
Comeback – Czech sitcom that has
some great, funny moments and a lot of weird ones. But I was fascinated by it,
in a way.
Also,
I discovered some Czechoslovak murder
mysteries from the 1980’s. Some of them good, some of them bad, but always
reminding me of my childhood.
Do you hate
anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Some
Russian politicians, same as last year. But I don’t hate them as people, more
as the threats their politics pose to me.
And
I´m starting to hate people who deliberately provide less than truthful
information. It´s difficult not to get lost in all the information you get.
What did you want and get?
A corset that my sister Hana sewed to fit me
perfectly.
What
did you want and not get?
A
calendar with Czech castles and chateaus, but I can buy it myself :-)
What didn’t you want and get?
A
book on Czech regional meals. A traditional Latvian bracelet. And lots of useful
and useless stuff from my ex-boyfriend.
What were your
favourite films of this year?
Příklady
táhnou (Examples pull, 1939)
– about a strict, conservative lady who grows fond of camping. Such a nice and
innocent film.
The
Proposal (2009)
– with Sitka, Alaska. Oh, what a beautiful place!
Cheeni
Kum (Less Sugar, 2007) –
a deliberately non-romantic Indian film about a love between a 64-year-old
restaurant owner and a 34-year-old Indian girl.
Santiniho
jazyk(Santini´s
tongue/language, 2011) – a symbolistic Czech film, with the message „Sometimes
you can prove your love by keeping quiet.“
What kept you sane?
C.S.Lewis´
book “The Screwtape Letters” (translated to Czech as Rady zkušeného ďábla). At
one point in September, this book saved my life.
Which celebrity/public
figure did you fancy the most?
Definitely Jānis Krastiņš. He´s an organic chemist
whose hobby for the past 50 years has been translating Czech literature to
Latvian. He got the Czech President´s award this year. I met him and he´s
unbelievably modest, intelligent and kind. A true gentleman. And his
translations are good!
Also, John Oliver, a British news reporter / comedian
living in the U.S. I started watching his news on YouTube and it helps me not
to get lost in all the crazy things happening in the world.
And I was intrigued by Edward Snowden, a young IT guy
who stole confidential data from NSA to make a point about the fine line between security and citizens'privacy violation.
What one thing would have
made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Nothing :-) This year was so packed with
experiences and experience!
What political issue
stirred you the most?
The
refugee issue, probably like most Europeans. I honestly don´t know what to
think about it. And am afraid that because of that, people will forget how important
it is to send aid to civilians in Ukraine.
Who did you miss?
My Latvian friend who had to return to
Latvia – just like last year. She was there until June. Fortunately, she came
back :-)
Tell us a valuable life
lesson you learned in 2015.
When someone hurts you even just a
little bit, it usually becomes like a piece of mold in a fridge. When you don´t
clean it, it starts growing and spoils all the food. And it influences your way
of thinking, your behaviour, much more than you realize. If you think someone´s
hurt you, tell them immediately! And if you can´t, imagine you´re punching them
in the nose, filling their mouth with chilli peppers, drowning them in a
river... It sounds terrible, but it really helps. Only then you can truly forgive
and forget.
If you even suspect that you have the feeling
„I always get overlooked“, „God doesn´t
love me“, „I have a disadvantage compared to other people“, „If only I hadn´t
this and this disadvantage...“, „It didn´t work out the last 50 times, so why
should it now?“
deal with it! Fight it, struggle as you
can, laugh at yourself, try to forget it! It´s very dangerous. You have a lot
to give and you can always be much, much happier!
And if you realize that since you met
someone, you have stopped singing, painting, walking, dancing, creating a
webpage... whatever it is you do, cut them off. There is probably something
wrong with that person. There are very few things worth giving up your identity
for.
Many people think Christianity is about
creating a feeling of guilt. Well, guilt really is one of its many topics – but
I realized this year how important it is to be taught what to feel guilty for.
Because it also tells you what NOT to feel guilty for. Which, in long term,
provides huge freedom. And it protects you from people who try to set their own
rules of guilt.
Quote a song lyric that
sums up your year.
There is no lyric that could
describe it.
For me, the year 2015 was
GLORIOUS. It was very hard but fruitful, it was a year of great changes, of truly
living, of healing, of becoming a whole person.
What
did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I started to
count that and still haven't finished... in 2013, God blessed me with an
abundance of exciting events that I could learn from. For example, I:
Got the possibility to translate my book to English and have it published
in Britain.
Met a Serbian, a Bosnian, a Ghanan, a Botswanan, an Ethiopian, a Welsh
guy...
Performed three dances at an Indian festival celebration. It was Holi,
the festival of colours, and the participants were throwing coloured powder at
one another. And so it happened that the next day, I heard this sentence in the
street for the first time: “Pardon me, miss, but your back is purple and blue.
May I clean it for you?”
Took part in an eating contest.
Visited a summer festival, danced at a concert and heard a Finnish Christian
heavy metal band live.
Saw a sentence in Hebrew on the Internet and was able to understand it.
Saw the Jewish music group Mišpacha perform live. I used to listen to
their songs when I was a small child and never thought I’d hear them perform.
And yet, there they were – singing at a Dialogue of Religions event. And a
Jewish guy, two Protestants, a Gypsy pastor and a Gypsy lady spontaneously
started to dance flamenco to their songs. Priceless.
Had a blind date that went really well. (You don’t see that every day.)
Watched a nativity play consisting mostly of North American spirituals
and gospels, sung by Africans and African Americans.
Changed the congregation.
Buried a cat.
Was photographed digitally for my new ID card, and the picture came out
horrible.
Spoke Russian on the phone. It was a business call and it was successful.
I still can’t believe it because I actually don’t speak Russian.
Translated an educational computer game for a US company.
Met my mom’s boyfriend.
Visited the Czech National Theatre in Prague. (This theatre was part of
important events of the 19th century Czech National Revival and I think every
Czech should visit it at least once. It’s a funny building, as it shows a
desire to look solemn and rich in decorations, and at the same time to hide the
fact that it was built on a ridiculously tiny piece of land. You see, Czechs
built it with money they collected among themselves, and it was just enough to
buy this small, cheap real estate on the river bank. That’s why it’s very
narrow and very tall. There are seats right above the stage and guess who was
sitting there! So, what I saw most of the time of my favourite actor Jan Hartl
was the top of his head.)
Did
you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make one this year?
Yes, and I made three this year...
Did
anyone close to you give birth?
No.
Did
anyone close to you die?
One person that actually was close to me – my mom’s friend who suffered
from multiple sclerosis and who used to be my employer. I was taking care of
her household from May 2012 to February 2013. Also, one distant relative. And
two people I only met a couple of times but took a liking to instantly – my
great-aunt who was a very nice person and my favourite Lithuanian poet,
Marcelijus Martinaitis.
And two of our cats – Yksi and Kuusi – died.
If this was
the sample of the society – nobody giving birth and four people dying – at this
rate, Europe would die out soon!
What
would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
The Mgr. (=M.A.) grade in Baltic Studies.
And it would be nice to have the possibility to live in Brno, or
elsewhere in Moravia. Prague is beautiful, but as a place to work in – not for
me. Too stressful. Most capitals are like that, I suppose.
What
countries/states did you visit?
The Czech meadows and busks, as we say :-) Or, more precisely, chateaus.
The famous, 19th century fairy-tale chateau of Hluboká:
The not-famous-but-very-ancient-feeling-and-having-witnessed-witch-trials
16th century North Moravian chateau of Velké Losiny:
The famous-for-its-name 17th century chateau of Náměšť nad Oslavou:
The not-famous-at-all-because-opened-for-public-just-two-years-ago 19th century chateau of Zruč nad Sázavou:
And two of my favourites, not-so-famous-but-nice-and-hospitable 18th
century South Moravian chateaus of Buchlovice and Milotice:
And some non-chateau pictures, just for good measure :-) Btw, some of
the pictures I show here are actually copyright of my sister Hana.
The town of Jihlava:
The canyon of river Doubravka in Chotěboř:
The town of Vsetín:
And my new congregation:
What
date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory?
19th February – I went to work for the first time.
5th May – Marcelijus Martinaitis died.
5th October – that’s when I moved from my father’s house.
And the 23rd December is the date when the lady with multiple sclerosis
died.
Did
you move anywhere?
From the house in Český Brod (a small town near Prague) where my father
and sister live, to a small flat about three blocks from there. It’s my mom’s
flat which she’s leaving gradually to live in Prague, and I had to move there
in one day’s time after a huge conflict with my father.
I didn’t like it at first, but I do now, as it’s quiet and full of light.
And the building is 1930’s Czech functionalism – my favourite architectonic
style!
I’m hoping to decorate it with reproductions of Monet’s paintings - both
cut out from calendars and my own, embroidered ones. Right now, I’m
embroidering The Poppy Field near Argenteuil.
What
was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting in touch with one of my favourite actors, Tony Osoba, and writing
his biography.
And getting my first steady job - one where I make use of most of my
knowledge and abilities! (That would be English, Lithuanian, Latvian,
interpreting, translating, communication with foreigners, precision, passion
for creating lists, experience with doctors...) I used to work for the
university in Brno but that job was everything but steady (in the original
sense of the word :-) ) because it didn’t have fixed working hours and it involved
a lot of travelling. This job is with an international company that provides
services to pharmaceutical companies, and I’m in charge of the database of
healthcare institutions in Lithuania. Plus I help out with various other things
– translating and interpreting for my Latvian and Estonian colleagues, finding
various resources on the Internet, and helping with contract negotiations.
What
was your biggest failure?
Falling out with my father. But we’re starting to communicate,
peacefully, again.
Not writing an article in Czech about Marcelijus Martinaitis, while he
was alive.
And I regret that I didn’t get to talk with the lady with multiple
sclerosis in the months before her death. I offered to come and play the piano
for her, but my mom said that would be too complicated because of her
relatives... that’d be a long story. And two weeks after that, she died. And I
wasn’t even able to come to her funeral because of the stupid bronchitis (see
next question):
Did
you suffer illness or injury?
Thank God, no. But I was ill most of December and still am a bit – it
looked like a cold but turned out to be bronchitis, and because I left it
uncured for a long time, it now takes a long time to recover.
What
was the best thing you bought?
Several things that I chose at Marks and Spencer and my mom bought them
for me for my 30th birthday. They were some nice pieces of clothes and some
British treats like shortbread or Earl Grey tea.
And the thing I bought for myself for my 30th birthday – the complete
series Porridge on DVDs! I bought it from Amazon.co.uk, and it was also the
first time I bought something from a non-Czech e-shop. It’s a 1973 British
sitcom that takes place in prison, and I discovered it while writing Tony
Osoba’s biography.
Whose
behaviour merited celebration?
Definitely my sister’s, who suffered a lot from my conflict with father,
but managed to stay calm and impartial.
My mom’s, because she offered me her flat without a moment’s hesitation.
My Latvian colleague’s, who accepted me as a friend the minute we met,
and we’ve been helping each other in all sorts of troubles.
The head of my department’s, who offered to deal with the bureaucratic
machinery of the faculty, so that I could graduate in June.
And my bosses‘- I now have two of them and both are the greatest bosses
imaginable.
And come to think of that, all my friends’ – each and every one of them
gave me good advice, or expressed some interesting thoughts, or showed their
kindness or patience or enthusiasm or... I could go on here for a long time :-)
Whose
behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
My father’s, and all the people's on the commuter trains to Prague who talk
loudly and use a lot of swear words.
Where
did most of your money go?
Into keeping myself alive :-P
What
did you get really, really, really excited about?
The fact that another lady suffering from multiple sclerosis, whom I used
to teach English, became interested in Protestant theology and plans to study
it!
The Christian multi-genre festival in Vsetín (a town near the border with
Slovakia). That was wonderful beyond description.
What
was the best concert you’ve been to this year?
That’s “the best concert I’ve ever been to”, by the way – and it was part
of Mark Knopfler’s Privateering tour. To quote my sister Hana:
“Mark Knopfler & Co.’s concert in May (an online newspaper
review gave it 90%, which caused an outrage from commentators who demanded to
know what was their excuse for the lack of the remaining 10% :D)!”
The band was at their best, the audience was
great and just when I was thinking “Now they’ve played
three of my favourite songs, I’m 100% satisfied”– they started to play another!
Telegraph Road, my favourite song of them all, performance unparalleled.
Other two Knopfler’s songs that I re-discovered and grew fond of in 2013 –
Cleaning My Gun and Camerado.
Reilly’s Sunlight
Eteenpäin by Finnish
Christian heavy metal band HB.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
1.happier or sadder? Much, much happier. You
probably know why after reading all the previous answers. But, most
importantly, the thorn of mistrust and criticism that had been in me all my
life vanished somehow. I’m able to relate to people more. Which makes me happy
more than winning a lottery or going to my dream holiday. (Which, btw, is
Canada, and even though it doesn’t seem so important anymore, I’m still hoping
to bring it to reality one day :-) )
2.thinner or fatter? I think I put on 1 kg :-)
3. richer or
poorer? Richer, a bit.
What
do you wish you’d done more of?
Taking care of myself. Dancing kathak. Reading Lithuanian literature for
my state exam.
What
do you wish you’d done less of?
Going to bed late and getting up late.
What
was your greatest musical discovery?
Bombino! The amazing Touareg guitarist.
And the Czech 20th century classical music componist, Petr Eben.
How
did you spend Christmas?
Mostly, sending text messages to friends and relatives. I had planned a
wonderful Christmas for my Latvian colleague – three days of watching Czech
film fairy-tales, eating, decorating spruce tree branches, visiting
relatives... and I fell ill at the beginning of December and didn’t recover for
Christmas. So I had to change the plans via SMS. In the end, we managed to have
a simple but nice Christmas Eve in my flat, and a family get-together at
grandmom’s.
Who did you spend the most
time on the phone with?
Talking
– that would be my grandmom. We’ve made it a custom to ring each other up every
Sunday. Writing SMS – my friends. One of them is the Latvian colleague, and so
about half of the messages I wrote and received in 2013 are in Latvian :-)
What
was the best book you read?
Ellis
Peters: Cadfael, The Leper of St. Giles. I got the
book from my sister for Christmas and read it in one afternoon. The Cadfael
books are detective stories that take place in 13th century England, and I love
the way Ellis Peters combines detective investigation with adventure,
descriptions of the environment and love stories.
Jan
Heller: Znamení odkazující k nebi (The Sign
Pointing to Heaven/Sky), a book of interviews with a professor who was not only
a great theologist but also a very nice and wise person.
And I’m starting to enjoy the Lucky Luke comics more and more...
Did
you fall in love in 2013?
Yes. Officially - unhappily. Unofficially – happily, because it brings me
joy just to know the person.
What
was your favourite TV show?
Porridge – see What
did you buy?
Charles
Endell Esquire – that’s another TV series I discovered while
writing Tony Osoba’s biography. It was made by Scottish TV in 1979 and it’s a
delightful comedy about a Glaswegian Godfather who returns from prison and
finds Glasgow quite different than he’d remembered it... It was a tough lesson of Scottish English.
Unfortunately, just when I started to understand and enjoy it, Scottish TV made
it unavailable to non-UK audiences, and there’s no other way to watch or buy
it.
Murdoch
Mysteries is a UK-Canadian drama about a Toronto detective at the turn of the 20th
century. It’s probably my favourite TV series of them all.
And Castle - that’s the surname of a New York mystery novel writer
that becomes friends with a female copper and they solve crimes together. A
friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed it immensely, especially the funny interactions
between Castle and his copper friend. I’d thought US
dramas/whodunnits/detective series (whatever they’re called :-) ) were just a
lot of crap because in all of them, the focus eventually switches from the
investigations to the people, relationships, psychology and whatnot– I’m more
of a Poirot and Sherlock Holmes person – but this one is good.
Do
you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I’m afraid I hate someone for the first time in my life. Trying hard not
to. Before that, I’d just hated Adolf Hitler.
What
did you want and get?
A calendar from Latvia.
What I didn't even dream of getting and got was two decorative tablecloths hand-made in Latvia, one of them dating back to the days when Latvia was part of the USSR.
Also, the signed photograph of Tony Osoba. I asked him to give me the
address of his agency, so that I could contact them about his photograph. But instead,
he sent me two pictures himself.
What
did you want and not get?
A table calendar with Czech castles and chateaus that my mom gives me
every year, but this Christmas, she forgot. I bought one for myself, today.
The kathak dancing costume my sister promised to sew me. It’s supposed to
look like this:
What
were your favourite films of this year?
Definitely this 2000 Tamil (=South Indian) film Kandukondain
Kandukondain (I Have Found). Its name corresponds with my general
impression of last year (even though I couldn’t describe what exactly I have
found), but it also got me interested in southern India (as opposed to northern
India, which differs a lot in mentality, culture, clothing etc.). And it’s sort
of... well, it‘s my film. It’s a story of four different people – an assistant
director, a veteran soldier, a software developer and a singer. It’s eventful,
adventurous at times, sometimes romantic, but I’d say the overall impression is
friendly and a bit poetic.
And I keep falling in love again and again with old Czech comedies and
fairy tales.
What kept you sane?
Or rather, who. The Lord.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the
most?
This one is
obvious: Tony Osoba :-)
And Bohuslav
Sobotka caught my attention – then he won the elections so I’m curious how he’ll
do in Czech politics.
What one thing would have made your year
immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able
to visit more events. I had to “skip” quite a number of them – like the
exhibition “The World of Mysterious Balts”, or the course of kathak dance.
What political issue stirred you the most?
I guess like all Czechs, I was excited about
the first public election of the president. And I was very disappointed at the
outcome.
Who did you miss?
See question
Did you fall in love in 2013? :-P
Also, my
sister who lives in Brno, my friends and teachers in Latvia, and Marcelijus
Martinaitis (I’m getting repetitive :-) ).
Who was the best new person you met?
This one is obvious, too – my new Latvian
friend, Elīna :-)
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in
2013.
Ha-ha, I
learned a lot of lessons, and the toughest and most important one was the one
Jesus himself taught me. But that was personal and I don’t think it applies to
anyone else.
A more
general lesson was the one about fear. Whenever I was optimistic and had faith,
everything went well (actually well beyond imagination), and whenever I gave in
to fear everything went wrong. That’s how I learned to “keep myself in the air,
at least one foot above the ground, even when it seems I’m falling”. It was a
hard minute-by-minute struggle at times.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I don’t think it exactly sums up my year, but
it will stand out in my memory as lyrics that I learned and thought of often in
2013.
It’s in Tamil and it’s from the film
Kandukondain Kandukondain.
