Salsa

I have started with salsa classes today and it was fuuun. It has been a while since I last danced, so I was full of anticipation.

Some time ago, my friend Pia, asked me if I would be interested in taking some salsa classes with her and I was like: Yeah! Of course! We decided to begin in 3th level (4th is the highest) at Salsa Slovenia. I danced salsa before, mainly at Salsa Congress in Rogaška Slatina, organised by dance school Rolly. Nonetheless, I was still scared it would be too difficult, because of another salsa style and all. 

Class was started by warm-up and followed with repetition of choreography - steps that were taught at 2nd level. My reaction: 'I'm fucked.' Anyway, the steps were once again explained and I managed to understand them all. The combination is awesome in my opinion. People there are nice and teacher is great too. 

Can't wait for next Monday! :)

Exit Festival - Getting there

Volunteers had to be on-site, in camp, 3-4 days in advance. So, Petra and me decided to go by train, first to Belgrade and further to Novi Sad. Not knowing what to expect of next eight days, we 'hit the road' around midnight. Not long after, in Zagreb, three guys joined us in a coupe and we immediatelly get into conversation. Topics varied from our roots, interests, to difference in cultures and countries. Then they pulled out some hardcore 'rakia' ... Nice beginning, although a bit blurry. :)

We were too tired and loaded with luggage to enjoy Belgrade, so we only had morning coffee and breakfast with my friend Branislav. The train for Novi Sad was cancelled, which meant a further two hours of waiting on the station. Finally, after 15 hours, we arrived.

Novi Sad, Exit Festival.

Post Scriptum: Shorter post due to yesterday's and tomorrow's exam (biochem & maths - blah). :)

Exit Festival - Application process for volunteers

Every candidate for volunteering had to fill out the application form, where you had to answer why are you the one to be choosen, what Exit  represents to you and what do you expect to gain from the experience. Besides that, you could mention your previous organisational, working or any other experience that should be considered. In the end you had to choose three different positions where you wanted to work. There were numerous options. From organisation, photography, camp services, non-governmental organisations, tickets, to serving drinks, setting stages and many, many other.

What followed was Skype interview for all candidates, which I found as very relaxed conversation about me, my interests and of course, Exit Festival. At the beginning I was scared if I know enough Serbian and told the interviewer that I speak little but maybe prefer using English for the occasion. He suggested we should try Serbian and switch to English if needed. No need though, entire discussion passed smoothly, he even patiently waited until I fixed the problem with laptops' webcam and mic. 

Next step was painful: waiting for the outcome - mail whether we were accepted or not.

Finally, I received a confirmation mail with further information: where and when was I supposed to appear, to which section I belonged, who our Team Leader was and other details. My work place was on a beach by the River Danube, looking after sport equipment. I belonged to larger group called Fun, Foodland & Cafes (Fun, Foodland & kafiči), 'subdivision' FUN - Sport, camp. My friend Petra was also accepted - she was placed on the fortress, helping guests at zip line, which was a huge success.

Happines in me was ENORMOUS! Joyful, joyful :) 

To be continued.

Exit festival - 1

Last few years many good critics had reached us and echoed about Exit festival; how great it was, about superstar guests, atmosphere, alternative scene, lovely enviroment.

Exit festival was first organised in 2000 by three university students in opposition to Milošević's regime. Throught time it become one of the largest European festivals, won several awards and is now ranked as one of the best festivals in the world.

Stages, last year 26, host superstars as (Main Stage) The White stripes, Snoop Dog, Sex Pistols, Lily Allen, The Chemical brothers, The Prodigy, Jamiroquai etc, etc on the. Dance arena presents biggest names in industry: Axwell, Fedde le Grand, Deadmau5, Carl Cox, Umek, Groove Armada ... And those are only two biggest.

But, any kind of music taste can be satisfied there - from jazz to dubstep, from commercial to alternative, as you have reggae stage, latino stage and so on. And these host most eminent guests in genre too! The most interesting stage is Silent Disco Stage, where you get huge wifi headphones. You can even change two or three channels for different music and it was soo funny when part of people danced and shout to some techno music and the other part had singed evergreen songs. Once, the DJ put on the Kalasnikov song from Bregovic and all the Balkans went crazy. Meanwhile, foreigners had not know the song and were looking lika: dafuq? Fun, fun, fun!

In summer 2010, I was on 'international' camp and new serbian friends Katarina and Helena told that you can apply to become volounteer there and get the free tickets. I forgot about that until one day Katarina send me message on internet that the application process had  So I decided to ... To be continued :)

Night owl

Funny. I noticed that 5 out of 7 latest posts on this blog were posted after midnight. I am quite an evening type of person. Usually go to bet somewhere between midnight and 4 am, although I may have something important early in the morning. And midnight is rather early to be honest, regardless if study period or not. I get more productive and mentally focused in the evening I guess.
I find that exhausting sometimes,  but One does not simply go to bed early. :)

Anyway, I did not have a presentation today because there were around 40 students and not enough time for everyone.

As I was talking about habits, I came across this. Do you agree? 

Shorter post today, but continuity has to be maintained. :P

Read ya'll. 

Whooping cough - Pertussis

At the beggining of December I started coughing. Nothing serious I though at the time, but It would not stop and it was getting worse. I just wished it had not been pneumonia.

After two weeks I went to see a emergency doctor and he prescribed me antibiotics, because he could not determine the right cause. Despite the medication my condicition was not improving, it was even worsening. I could not sleep well, I was woken up by severe cough, but I was hoping for improvement. Finally mom took me too my personal doctor and she immediately suspected that I could have whooping cough (oslovski kašelj). Second antibiotics, this time very strong.

Whooping cough? I am, as all my generation, vaccinated against that! Yeah, well ... obviously not all vaccine works. My sample was promply sent to Institute of Public Health and it took few days (due to Christmas) to learn that I got pertussis.

The toughest time was the week between Christmas and New Year. I developed typical 'whoop' sound after each coughs and I was coughing constantly. It even compel me to vomit. Loads of tea, fruit and honey was consumed then.

After NY coughs occured less often and lost the whoop sound, but stayed strong. In return, I started struggled for breathe after coughing.

Now, the situation is fine with only few severe coughs a day. I am glad it did not developed in anything more serious, like pneumonia. Even though, I can not run or do other activities on air yet. Can't wait for it!

Tommorow I have a presentation on the blood for subject Technical English, therefore I have to get up early, catch a train to Ljubljana, do my best and get the very first grade. It better be excellent! Wish me luck. :)

G'night.

Post scriptum: The level of word 'cough' in this post is too damn high - I am aware of that, but I did not find good replacement for it. :)

Study habits

If I had to study really hard at grammar school and in gymnasium, it would probably be much easier now. But it was a piece of cake all that time. Thus, I photocopied someone's notes day or two before and and I passed every exam. I did not get all A's though, but I kept on average.

Gymnasium had lists of oral exams - another cause for no continuous learning. Some students took the opportunity and got excellent grades with less effort or at least with less stress. Majority of us did not think that way and waited untill the last moment. 

Maybe that is the cultural gap between let's say nordic countries and us. In my opinion, we should not adapt their school system. Not yet. We have to grow up as a society and motivate our suceessors, somehow install the desire for knowledge, not push them into education. On the other hand, parents teach kids that without university degree, you are looser. Some of the best electricians, mechanics, ceramist and other craftsmen are lost that way because many people's skills are supressed in order to direct them to gymnasium and further to uni. That would not be such a problem if we would not be facing with decreasing of generations - for this reason practically everyone can be accepted to university. Schools lower level of difficulty, but when faced with university demands, many cracks. The topic could be debated infinitely.

So ... Later, I could not to sit down and study for A levels (had some other problems too, mainly health). I was not accepted to medicine nor biochemistry nor biotechnology, though my result was not bad. I applied to chemistry and now I am here, but ... The old story repeats.

I do not blame nobody nor the system, but myself, for the situation in which I am. I just wanted to put on paper some facts that contributed to my lazyness. :)

The only thing that pisses me off and makes me sad at the same time is that I am aware that I could do so much more with a little bit of effort, but I simply do not. Moron, I know.

First semester at university

It has been roughly half a year from the last post and I survived the first semester at Faculty of chemistry and chemical technology. To sum up: loads of work, many hours in laboratory and no enthusiasm. Consequently, I skipped some classes and did not easely get to studying. Currently we have study break until 20th February, but it is exam period also so there is no time to rest.

I find studying chemistry extremely difficult. Probably because there are few uninteresting hardcore subjects not directly related to chemistry, e.g. maths and physics. Other subject, general chemistry, molecular basics of life sciences (basic biochemistry) and practicum of general and inorganic chemistry, are more interesting, yet very hard to understand or study. Apart from technical english, which is child's play, all 5 other subjects will be/are big challenge to me.

At the moment I cannot motivate myself to study all day, even though I know it is neccesary.  Daydreaming, facebook and youtube are my everyday activities, not to even mention 9GAG. Do not go there - it is highly addictive.

I moan and complain A LOT about my university course, which definitely has to be one of toughest, not toughest though. The fact that so few students come to the second year confirms this. But hey, I wanted it, right?

Week 38, Year 2011

Much was going on this week ... I donated blood for the first time, had a shopping spree in Zagreb, been to Ljubljana, party three days at Ina's and much more. However, no exuse for no posting.

Becoming a blood donor is a very human act IMO. Why not give half an litre of blood if it can save another man's life? What if you will ever need blood transfusion? Hopefully not though. There is no reason to worry about a thing because needled are of course disinfected and donated blood can not be infected as everybody goes through medical examination and fills out a form before the procedure and afterwards the blood is analysed. Every time you do the thing your blood is first checked if it contain enough haemoglobine. No pain, no problem.

The only sacrifice you have to make is not eating greasy food and drink milk on the day of donation and even that represents no trouble if consumed in small amount. Some people can not stand blood and even those who can sometimes collapse in the process. That is why there are reassuring medical stuff who are always asking about your welfare. And last but not least, you get a free meal, which turned out to be full lunch. In Slovenia you get day off if donating blood, some countries even pay you. Blood transfusion centre of Slovenia did (and probably do every time) a great job giving all the needed information and calming donors. Today, one week after I already received blood donor card and I am determined to give blood every three months (women can every 4 months) to do at least a small contribution :)

I got myself a new android phone Samsung Galaxy Ace. It met my expectations ... Android has a very nice interface which is significantly customizable. In comparison to two previous Windows phones, Samsung Omnia and HTC Touch 2, this is like heaven to me. Tons of applications to play with all day and many to organise my life. Phone works and responds fast. Camera is nothing special and I miss physical shooting button but I do not primarily use my phone to take pictures. Nonetheless, pictures taken in good light conditions are nice and sharp. Definitely the best value for that money, a real bargain.

Oh yes, how could I forget! I am accepted to University of Ljubljana, Faculty of chemistry and chemical engineering, course Chemistry. On Wednesday I have to go to faculty and deal with some paperwork to officialy become a member of University of Ljubljana. Study year starts on Monday. Can't wait! :)

Have fun.

Quote: Youth is wasted on the young, before you know its come and gone, too soon. -  Robbie Williams

Books of London

Last summer I spent the best three weeks of my life in the capitol of the world, London. Besides all the great thing this vibrant city has to offer I was surprised to find out so many bookstores. From tiny to enormous, from dark to fancy, from expensive to second-hand .. but all had discounts in common :) I bought at least 15 books, ranging from novels to more scientific literature. On Gatwick airport my suitcase exceeded the weight limit of 20 kg for 6kg but thankfully I was not fined.

Due to matura examination and my laziness I still did not read all the books. However, those which I did were motivation for further reading. I finally ˝did˝ the original Godfather. Story is beautiful, but language ... what an language! Now all the quotes have even stronger message. Among all I read a book on punctuation, Lynne Truss: Eats, Shots & Leaves, which is to be a topic of next post.

Good night.

Quote: 

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - Harry Potter books

Post scriptum: Again, new text editor is simply adorable! It gives you this nice illusion of writting on a real paper as you would be writing a letter :)