New reflections

The flat I stayed in when I was first in Barcelona
had this great rooftop terrace, shared by all the residents.
Rarely did anyone else ever use it, but one day I came out
to find "Sandra" drying in the hot sun, fresh from a bath.

Reflecting on pauses I am taking, and spaces I am creating in my life. Have I finally had enough of myself to start making changes? I don't know, but something is shifting.

The thing I am mostly aware of this week is how much a single day alone can mean to me. I thought I needed more. What I crave is long stretches, but I'll take what I can get. I also recognize that moving heaven and earth to get a day or two IS worth it.

But a rest was as good of a change, and having 36 hours or so alone this past week let me relax into myself.

Nothing grand, just puttering around my own home, having a nice cup of tea in the living room, and reading a book. Being home alone is gold.

The past 8 months have taught me a lot, including a reminder that I may not ever want to live with someone. I always though I might be open to a long term relationship, if I ever came across the right situation - and I probably still am - but sharing my abode? Right now I can't imagine it. What I can imagine is a long time relationship, with 2 apartments. People do it. I could.
But, really, all that is so far off my radar, just a thought.

Creating intentional time alone is something I need to take seriously as a cornerstone in my life. I have to look past the barrier of not being able to that at home.

When I was travelling, for the most part, I felt that sense of inner peace and contentment of being myself, within myself. Wherever I am, I am home. I didn't feel lost because I didn't have a "home".

I wonder how I can create some of that same sense of self, and inner solitude, when I am not living alone? I feel like I am grasping at a loose thread of a thought beyond my reach...

Reflections this week around:

• Solitude
• Swimming
• Pausing
• Nourishing
• Writing

Sometimes I feel my brain spinning like a top. I have so much going on in there (!), that I am not able to breathe or breathe in. I need space, and I am not creating that for myself.

Now is not the time to reflect on what I don't have, or to beat myself up for not creating what's important.

Now is the time to just stop, get grounded, and find a few threads from which to weave a new way of being. Or just disentangle myself from the snags.

BTW, this is a stream of consciousness that I don't expect anyone else to read, or to follow. It's more like my blog of old. I've been writing less like this in recent years, as my blog has become more 'visible'. I've even thought of creating a new blog, just for my thoughts, but why should I? I've had this one forever. I actually doubt anyone reads it anyways, and I am not worried what people think, so I'll just carry on....

Review: Spaceman

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great listen, with a view from the Hubble

I loved this book. I've read quite a few astronaut accounts and none have given me a visceral sense of what it feels like to take off in a rocket, until Spaceman. Mike Massimino has a way with words, and narrating it himself is what makes it come to life. It's brilliant.

The other lasting memory I have from this book, which I listened to more than a month ago, is the view of earth from the Hubble. Again, he takes you there. First, he makes sure you realize how unique the view is, and that only a small handful of people have seen it. He contrasts the view from the moon, from which you can only see part of the earth, with the view from the Hubble, so high that you can see the entire sphere of earth. It was an ah ha moment for me. It wasn't until the Hubble launched that we earthlings saw pictures of the 'globe', the beautiful little round ball that is our planet. From there, Massimino brilliantly describes what it was like to see it firsthand. You are there, almost seeing it with him, forcing himself to look away so that he can perform his spacewalk work, as it was so mesmerizing it was almost impossible. Wow.

This is also a great book for Canadians who will enjoy getting an understanding of how the Canada Arm really works, and what it makes possible.

DEFINITELY time well spent.

Images of Massimino are courtesy of NASA

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15 years

Creative Commons image
markedyer on Flickr

It seems that I have been blogging for 15 years...

My first blog post - September 18, 2003

The milestone got past me, but not only just.

So many iterations and variations along the way, but remains is the ever-present desire to write...

Brussels: This is not a street

Ceci n’est pas une rue.
Brussels honours artist René Magritte with a new street name.

"If you could name a street in your hometown, what would you choose? Belgian citizens had the opportunity to mull just that question as part of an initiative to name 28 streets, squares, and walkways in the Belgian capital’s Tour & Taxis district*. The city crowdsourced the names as part of an ongoing regeneration project in the Tour & Taxis district—a formerly industrial area now set to become one of the city’s cultural and residential meccas. After receiving nearly 1,400 suggestions from the public, the final list was chosen by a jury of city officials, historians, and the site’s property developer, Extena...""[read more on Quartz].

*The district is named after the famous Thurn and Taxis, a German noble family that was a key player in European postal services until the fall of the Holy Roman Empire.

Street name signs in Brussels are in Flemish and French.
There have been more going up lately.

"Once a railway station and inland port, the district was a maze of warehouses, customs buildings and post and telegraph offices. By the early 1990s the area had fallen on hard times: lorry transport had rendered rail freight lines obsolete, while the introduction of a European customs union and harmonisation of standards drastically reduced incoming goods..." [read more on The Guardian].

"Did you know that the site once served as the largest freight station of Europe? The historic buildings were years ahead of the rest of Europe. The architects and engineers combined beautiful Belgian architecture with the most innovative technologies of the time. The result? Buildings that still have all modern facilities with an attractive, historic flavour..."read more on the official website].

"The eclectic mix of new names chosen by Brussels residents range from Passage de la Kriek, named after a famous Belgian cherry beer, to Ceci n’est pas une rue (This is not a street), inspired by the art of Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte. “To give a street a name, it gives it a certain identity,” Kris Verhellen, CEO of the Extensa development group which owns the former transport hub in the north of the city..." [read more on Reuters].

The new Brussels street names - and what they mean

• Allée des Douanes: Customs Alley
• Ceci n’est pas une rue: This is not a street (honouring Belgian artist René Magritte)
• Chemin du Bonheur: Path to Happiness
• Chemin d’Un Monde Meilleur: Path to a Better World
• Drève des Rêves: Drive of Dreams
• Drève du Parc: Park Drive
• Drève Maritime: Maritime Drive
• Drève von Thurn und Tassis: Tour and Taxis Drive
• Mer des Pavés: Sea of Cobblestones
• Passage de la Caricole: Passage of the Caricole
• Passage de la Frite: Passage of the fries
• Passage de la Praline: Passage of the Praline
• Passage de la Kriek: Passage of the Kriek (Belgian beer)
• Passage du Chicon: Passage of Chicon (a Belgian cheese and endive dish)
• Passage du Cuberdon: Passage of Cuberdon (a Belgian candy)
• Passage du Speculoos: Passage of the Speculoos (a Belgian spiced cookie)
• Passage du Stoemp: Passage of the Stoemp (a Belgian vegetable dish)
• Place de la Musique: Place of Music
• Place des Choukes: Place of Choukes (a Belgian term of endearment)
• Place des Grands Hommes Place of Great People
• Quai des Brumes: Quay of the Mists
• Rue Chantal Akerman: Chantal Akerman Street (a famous Belgian feminist and avant-garde filmmaker)
• Rue des Entrepôts: Warehouse Street
• Rue du Méandre: Meander Street
• Rue Isala Van Diest: Isala Van Diest Street (Belguim's first female medical doctor)
• Voie 1: Way 1
• Voie 2: Way 2

The Brussels city flag

To learn more
Tour & Taxis District - official website
Belgians chose “This is not a street” as one of 28 new Brussels street names - Quartz
Beer, chips and historic women inspire new Brussels street names
New names of the Tour & Taxis streets - Brussels city website
Ceci n’est pas une rue: Brussels to adopt whimsical new street names - The Guardian
Brussels Honors René Magritte & Other Painters With Bizarre Street Names - The Travel

Review: Why They Do It

Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal by Eugene Soltes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Insightful, but not so memorable...

I forgot to review this book right after finishing it, and although its only been a week or two, I barely remember it.

I guess it was ok, it kept my attention.

As I write this, a couple of stories are coming back to me...

Interesting to learn about the forks in the road when people made a poor judgement call, then couldn't (or wouldn't) go back.

I can't say I now know why they did it, because my mind never works like those described, but it was insightful.


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Review: Citizen Coke

Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism by Bartow J. Elmore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Glad I stuck it out... but this wasn't a riveting read (or listen).

This definitely wasn't what I expected. Many years ago I read about the debacle when Coke changed its formula, which I found quite fascinating, but the marketing implications of this were barely mentioned in this book.

This was more like a text book, documenting the original formula, all the sugar, cocaine (yes, its true), caffeine and water wars and challenges, distribution, licensing and packaging. I faded in and out, but there were occasional bright spots, such as the interesting effort to get a cold Coke in the hands of every soldier, every day, around the world.

I found the end depressing, but informative. Would we have all the world water shortages and heaps of plastic and aluminum waste, and even recycling, if this magic black potion was never invented?

I don't know the answer, but it made me look at the Diet Coke can next to me with new eyes.

Don't read this if you're looking for marketing or amusement, but I recommend it if you are studying or working in purchasing, manufacturing and distribution. Or need your eyes opened wider than a cold Coke will do on a hot day.

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