Šodien kārtējo reizi pārliecinājos, ka mani līdz sirds dziļumiem kaitina un, jā – patiesībā – aizvaino izmisīgi mēģinājumi izmantot sociālos medijus PR aktivitātēm. Ne visi, protams, bet gan tie, kas nāk no privātpersonām, ar mērķi popularizēt kādu konkrētu “pasākumiņu” (zem “pasākumiņa” šajā gadījumā lieku visu – uzņēmumu, teātra izrādi, preci, pakalpojumu… nu, tu jau saprati). Tas mani super-inspirēja rakstīt šo garo bloga ierakstu, kuru tāpat 99% no jums neizlasīs līdz galam.
Mazais PR entuziast, ja tu izmanto sociālos medijus šādam mērķim, dari to tā, lai cilvēki nepamana to, ka tu, paralēli raudot spilvenā, mēģini kaut kur “iebāzt” savu informāciju! Man tiešām krīt uz nerviem mūžīgie Facebook uzaicinājumi pievienoties kādai fanu grupai, kas nāk no “draugiem”, kuri “darbojas” šajā jomā. Mani kaitina arī absolūti bezvērtīgie albumi Draugiem.lv, kuru galvenais mērķis ir “tikt apskatītiem, lai kāds, dieviņ tētiņ, uzspiestu uz tā linka, kas bildes aprakstā”. Nu? Uzspiedīs? Un tālāk? Sakačāsi trafiku mājas lapai? Jā. Tiešām izcili. Labs darbs, vari sist sev uz pleca, profesionāli!
Vai tev tiešām šķiet, ka, ja tu iepostēsi Tviterī, ka tagad atrodies @tavspasākumiņš (zem kura, protams, ir links uz konkrētā pasākuma Twitter profilu, kurā ir īpaši vērtīga reklāmas informācija un linki uz reklāmas posteriem) un te satiki savu labāko draudzeni, un jūs tagad forši runājaties, cilvēki nesapratīs, ka patiesībā viss, ko tu gribēji, ir iemest visiem acīs to nenormāli svarīgo linku? Man tev ir jaunumi, zaķīt – cilvēki nav stulbi. Un tos, kuri ir stulbi, tu taču negribi savaņģot savam “pasākumiņam”. Un, ja turpināsi šādā garā, tu riskē dabūt tikai stulbos,
Te, pāris ieteikumi daļēji brīvā tekstā, lai tu atkal neizgāztos kā veca sēta.
1. Auditorijas segmentācija. Ptfu, pārāk sarežģīti noteikti pateicu. Nu labi – principā tā visa fiška ir tajā, ka tu saproti, ko tev vajag un tad izdomā, kā to dabūt. Iedomājies, ka tev, piemēram, vajag pastāstīt pēc iespējas foršāk par kādu skeitparka “pasākumiņu”. Tu taču nestāstīsi par to pensionāriem, vai ne? Viņi taču no tā dēļa nokritīs viens un divi! Nē, zini – viņi pat nenāks. Un rakstīs niknas vēstules tev atpakaļ un bojās tavu jau tā ne visai tīro karmu. Un tad, kad vēlāk mēģināsi viņiem “iepotēt” informāciju par jaunākajām pretradikulīta zālēm, viņi tevi speciāli ignorēs. Un smiesies. Skaļi.
Protams, nav iespējams pilnībā izvairīties no informācijas sniegšanas kādam, kuram tas neinteresē, taču segmentējot (nu, vai vismaz mēģinot to darīt) var šo iespējamību samazināt. Jeb, kā teiktu mūsu daiļrunīgais ministrs Augulis – “maksimāli minimālizēt”.
2. Okei, tagad pieņemsim, ka tu esi uzņēmums. (Nē, ne IZņēmums. Uzņēmums!) Viens riktīgi kruts, foršs un veiksmīgs uzņēmums. Iedomājies? Lieliski. O’Reilly & Milstein savā “The Twitter Book” raksta tā: “Vajadzētu iedomāties savu Twitter kontu kā informācijas būdiņu, kurā kompānija dalās ar padomiem, saitēm u.tml. un cilvēkiem ir iespēja nākt uz šo informācijas būdiņu ar saviem jautājumiem, sūdzībām, savukārt kompānijai jāspēj uz šiem jautājumiem atbildēt ar adekvātu informāciju. Noteikti nevajadzētu saviem klientiem rakstīt sekojošas ziņas: „@klients Žēl, ka tā. Piezvaniet mums, lai atrisinātu šo problēmu”. Un pat nenorādīt telefona numuru. Klientu, kurš jau saskaras ar problēmu, šāda veida atbilde tikai sadusmos. Vislabāk norādīt konkrētu telefona numuru, vai pat turpināt šo sarunu nosūtot klientam direct message, iegūt klienta kontaktinformāciju un tālāk uzdot klientu servisam tikt ar problēmu galā (O`Reilly, Milstein, 2009:191). Redzi, viņi vispār baigi forši uzrakstīja par to, ko es tev tālāk gribu teikt.
3. Atceries, ka sociālie tīkli atļauj divu virzienu komunikāciju, t.i., ja tu uzrakstīsi kaut ko izcili stulbu, cilvēki varēs (un tici man, viņi izmantos šo iespēju) tevi par to publiski slānīt. Protams, viņi varēs tevi arī lielīt, bet, ņemot vērā, ka es šodien esmu nikna un sapūtusies, par to mēs šobrīd nerunāsim. Šī iemesla dēļ, tev jādomā dubultā par to, ko un kā tu raksti. Tviteris, Facebook, Draugiem.lv un citi sociālie tīkli ir spēks. Tev neveicas – iepriekšminētie ir spēks arī tad, ja tu tos nemāki izmantot. Tā, ka saņemies un bīdi normālus tekstus.
4. Nu, tagad tā pavisam vieglā tekstā. Atceries, ka – ja tu izmanto savu privāto kontu, lai postētu mesidžus, kuri ir ar mērķi kaut ko pārdot, tev jārēķinās ar zināmām sekām.
- Tu vari veicināt sliktu un uz nerviem krītošu reputāciju savam “pasākumiņam”;
- Tu vari zaudēt savus draudziņus/kontaktiņus/paziņas, kuriem vienkārši apnicis visu laiku saņemt tavu spamu;
- Ar to vēl nepietiek, lai tu pārdomātu savu stratēģiju? Saproti, principā darot visu nepareizi, tu vari panākt absolūti pretēju efektu, nekā tu vēlējies. Cilvēki tev vairs nesekos, uz ielas ignorēs un klubos izliksies, ka tevi nepazīst.
5. Ā, un vēl. Ir viena lieta, kas šī sakarā jau kādu laiku man kremt un sēž uz sirsniņas. Tagad vēlreiz iedomājies, ka tu esi uzņēmums. Vai grupa. Vai jebkas. Un iedomājies, ka tu esi tikko izveidojis Twitter kontu, lai iepeldētu superīgajā sociālo tīklu pasaulē. Nesāc sekot cilvēkiem, ja tev ir tikai viens vai divi tvīti! Drusciņ piestrādā, esi pacietīgs. Neviens tev nesekos “uz krītiņa”. Tev jārada iespaids, ka dosi cilvēkiem interesantu info, lai viņi tev sekotu. Protams, izņemot gadījumus, ja tu esi Baraks Obama. Un man noteikti nav tik smagi sakāpis galvā, lai es domātu, ka mani šobrīd ar Google Translator palīdzību lasa Baraks. So, jā – radi interesantu saturu un tev taps sekots!
Ar visu šo es mēģināju tev iepotēt kaut nelielu sociālo tīklu etiķeti un loģisko domāšanu. Protams, es neapskatīju vēl ļoti daudzus tematus un noteikumus, kas saistīti ar sociālo tīklu izmantošanu PR nolūkos, bet pagaidām pietiks, ja ņemsi vērā vismaz šos. O! Es jau redzu, kā tavi draugi atgriežas pie tevis!
* Info no: O`Reilly T., Milstein S. (2009) The Twitter Book., O`Reilly Media Inc. Cambridge, United Kingdom.185-190.
Kad šis blogs tika radīts, dzīvoju Portugālē un man bija vēlme, lai tajā rakstīto saprot arī portugāļu draudziņi. Vēlāk pārvācos uz Londonu un, protams, arī tur latviešu valodā runāja vien pāris tūkstoši cilvēku. Taču šobrīd jau kādu laiku esmu atpakaļ Latvijā, līdz ar to vajadzība rakstīt angliski ir sarukusi līdz minimumam.
Tāpēc turpmāk šis blogs būs latviski.
Paldies par uzmanību, tiekamies 
Šodien izlēmu, ka vispārējai erudīcijai jānoklausās tie mākslas darbi, ko mūsu brālīši un māsiņas iesūtījuši superīgajam Lielās Eiropas konkursam. Labi, ka bija pēdējā dziesma. Citādāk, citādāk… Es pat nezinu.
1. Lauris Reiniks – Good Morning Lullaby
Vienkārši un ļoti, ļoti garlaicīgi. Es pat neko daudz vairāk nevaru/negribu pateikt.
2. PeR – Like A Mouse
Tas pats Lauris Reiniks, tikai trīskāršots, turklāt ar neciešami daudz viena vārda atkārtojumiem. Ja esmu kaut ko palaidusi garām, un tas tagad ir ‘on top’, apsolos puišiem pateikt, ka viņi ir stilīgi. Un kāpēc, pie velna, ir jāņaud dziesmas beigās?!
3. H2O – When I Close My Eyes
Nē, šito es esmu ar mieru klausīties tāpat reizēm. Varbūt. Fonā. Bet piedziedājumā balsīm tomēr nebūtu jābūt tādā disonansē. Piestrādāt, satjūnēt un fonā apdrošināšanas reklāmai. Aizies.
4. Dons – My Religion Is Freedom
Man šķiet, ka es to fona samplu esmu kaut kur jau dzirdējusi. Un no Dona es gaidīju vairāk, sasodīts. Īpaši pēc pēdējā albuma, ar kuru viņš pat man, kurai Dons organiski nepatīk, lika paklausīties, ko tad puika sastrādājis. Bet īkšķīši augšā par ‘nemaz ne uzspēlēto’ pielīšanu Eiropai (LOL). Es par to vietu, kur tiek tulkots nosaukums visādās valodās.
5. Projekts Konike – Digi digi dong
Projekts kāds? Ko? Man šitais atgādina to Spānijas Eirovīzijas dziesmu pirms pāris gadiem, kur tas mazais vīriņš dziedāja kaut kādus pašizdomātus tekstiņus. Eu, puikas, Ziemassvētki bija pirms mēneša.
6. Aisha – What For?
Ok, viņas dziesmas nosaukumā ietverto jautājumu es varētu uzdot viņai pašai. Jo šis viss liek man šausmās saķert galvu. Un skaļi raudāt. Starp citu, uz Mis Andrejevu attiecas tas pats, kas uz PeR puišiem. Atkārtot ir kruta. Ok, I get it.
7. Kristīne Kārkla-Puriņa – Rišti rašti
Nevaru teikt, ka man baigi patīk balss, bet ē… Kaut kas tajā dziesmā man drusciņ pat patīk. Success! Eu, bet kāpēc Vītolu ģimene ar visu govi nepiedalījās?
8. Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis – Because I Love You
Kāpēc man šī dziesma atgādina ļoti sliktu Barenaked Ladies – If I Had A Million Dollars rīmeiku? Uz Šlāgeraptauju! Nākamais!
9. Kristīna Zaharova – Snow in July
Tas tipiskais Eirovīzijas bītiņš apakšā ir vienkārši paralizējošs. Balss jau meitenei smuka. Elli U drusciņ līdzīga. Ai, davai, sūtam šito.
10. Triānas parks – Lullaby For My Dreammate
Vienīgā foršā, bet, dies pas, nesabojājam cilvēkiem nākotni, sūtot viņus uz Eirovīziju.
Bet vispār baigi labi! Malači, puikas un meitenes! Šlāgeraptauja ir kas izcili stilīgs.
Image (C) Freedigitalphotos
45 Lessons Life Taught Me
By Regina Brett, 90 years old
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late t o have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27 Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
Merry Christmas to all the happy bunnies (sad ones too) out there! xx
Keith Movie Poster (c) No Hands Productions
- Yeah.
- We’re lab partners. This is strictly a lab partnership. And Walter would be very, very upset right now.
I’m not quite sure, why this movie got to me this late, but IT GOT TO ME. Keith is probably the most influencing movie I’ve seen in the past years. The thing with me is, that I usually watch movies in the evening and the majority of them don’t stick around in my head till the next morning. It’s like I have never seen them. This one is officially stuck.
Natalie has it all: yearbook editor, scholarship to college, star athlete, reigning social queen. Then Keith enters her life. Secretive and enigmatic, he slowly lures her from her comfort zone. The more Keith holds back, the more Natalie becomes intrigued with figuring him out. In her head, she’s determined to keep him at arm’s length, but in her heart she can’t resist him. As Natalie’s world slowly unravels, both their lives are changed forever in this powerful love story.
This is what IMDB tells us. I would point out absolutely different details and clash points, though. But there’s no sense in trying to provide you with spoilers. I think that one of the best things about this experience was that I had absolutely no idea what to expect. So don’t watch the trailer, don’t check out the pictures, don’t get any more information than the one I’ve already given you.
This year is almost over and an evaluation is almost inevitable. I sat and thought about the things I can evaluate and came to a conclusion that there are so many, I just can’t deal with this boredom I could cause you. I just couldn’t sleep at night if I had done the crime of wasting your time with the evaluation of my life. I mean, really, who cares what’s the best food I’ve eaten this year? Or the best daiquiri I’ve drunk? I wouldn’t. So, I’m just going to do what’s best for all of us and skip that awful part. So, followed by a really loud drumroll… Here are the music “yeah’s” and music “no way’s” of this year.
- “Sleep well” album of the year:
Norah Jones – The Fall. I would call it a “no way” if it wasn’t so plain and modest. It didn’t disturb my good night’s sleep at all, because I just didn’t notice it. So – here goes… an inconspicuous “yeah” for all of you insomniacs out there.
– “Two good singles” album of the year:
You won’t believe me on this one probably, but let’s face it – I Gotta Feeling and Boom Boom Pow were the only two good singles from this year’s Black Eyed Peas album The E.N.D. They were good, okay, they got us all moving and jumping up’n'down, but we all know it’s not enough. If I would rate singles, it would be a definite “yeah”, but for the album there’s a big, fat “noooo way”.
John Mayer - Battle Studies (c) Sony Music
– “Quite boring, but decent” album of the year:
John Mayer – The Battle Studies. And I’m really sorry to say this, John. Continuum is still the best thing you’ve created. You’re still gorgeous, I still love you, but I think the routine has hit the relationship. The good news is – you can still get back on the track. Who Says proves it. Anyhow – this is a “yeah”, despite all.
– “Jump-around-shake-your-arse-like-you-just-don’t-care” album of the year:
Jamie T – Kings & Queens. In comparison with Panic Prevention, this is a downhill, obviously, but it still holds the obvious charm of Jamie T and his own style. There were tracks I loved, there were mundane tracks, there were the weird ones as well. Maybe, as time goes by I will love the tracks I hated at first, as it was with Panic Prevention. A single I just can’t fly by and not mention in this case is Sticks’n'Stones – amazing, full of energy and an obvious success. So yeah, I do give it a “yeah”. And I still want to see him perform live. Preferably Sheila and Northern Line, though.
Jamie T - Kings & Queens (c) Virgin Records
– “It was good, but let’s not take this any further” album of the year:
Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream. Well, this is just sad. Okay, it was great how she rocked Simon’s socks off at Britain’s Got Talent last year, but why, and this is a serious WHY, did she have to record an album, for God’s sake? And yeah, I know everyone has a right for their 15 minutes of fame, but didn’t hers tick out when she performed the third time of the song from Les Miserables? Oh well, but what do I know… Everyone, hurry to get your copy of copies!
– ALBUM OF THE YEAR. As simple as that.
Jamie Cullum – The Pursuit. I am convinced that a lot of people will listen to Jamie Cullum, the young boy (well, not so young anymore as he turned 30 this year) from Essex, in the future the way we listen to Frank Sinatra now. With honor, appreciation and admiration. Despite the critics who are on to Jamie about him “making the jazz pop-ish” I think that we are actually experiencing the birth (yes, and I’m sure he’s only in the early stages) of a legend. The first time I heard The Pursuit, I thought “Okay, not a lot of new stuff, but it’s decent at least. He hasn’t made the world’s best album, but he is still not breaking his own levels of mastery”. Then I heard it again, and again, and again… And I fell in love. I’m still listening to The Pursuit every single day and it still gives me goose pumps. So “yeah”, this is a very loud “YEAH” for fabulous Jamie Cullum.
Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit (c) Universal Music
I’ve got some “yeah’s” to give to Dave Matthews Band for Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, Amerie for In Love & War, Mika for The Boy Who Knew Too Much, Arctic Monkeys for Humbug, Ida Maria for – Fortress Round My Heart, Royksopp for Junior and Muse for The Resistance. And some definite “no way’s” for Eminem – Relapse and some of the very unfortunate comeback attempts from The Backstreet Boys and Take That (YES, INDEED!)
Scrubs (c) ABC
The last couple of weeks have been intense. A new job, new old places and serious acclimatization issues. I’m almost past them, so here I am, writing again.
The best way to get a rest from one’s own life is to live other’s lives for a while. So, to get some rest from mine, I’ve practiced watching TV shows. It’s easy, just drown into the couch and indulge yourself with the maximum laziness and not-thinking-at-all. This is why I wanted to share my favorite episodes here. Just FYI: I happen to have a very weird taste sometimes.
True Blood (c) HBO
I spent most of my London’s free time watching ABC’s Scrubs. I know that this isn’t news or anything, but Scrubs actually turned out to be the funniest show ever! The show is about young doctors – the way they fight their way up to the top of the pops medicine hierarchy in Sacred Heart hospital. The main role is played by Zach Braff as John J.D. Dorian who certainly loves to daydream and talk to his conscience. Definitely recommend this one to all of you hospital comedy lovers out there.
My other top time-waster was HBO’s True Blood. The show takes place in Bon Temps, a small town in South America where vampires have finally came out of the closet. The main role is played by Ann Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse. She falls in love with a vampire, which is already crazy enough, but then all of the people of Bon Temps realize that vampires aren’t the only ones disturbing the peace of the little town… Yes, I’m addicted to vampire movies and episodes and YES, I can’t wait for the next Twilight movie. I know, I know…
House M.D... Yeah, we all know house. Nothing left to say.
How I Met Your Mother – I think we all know that one too. Remember the time all of us were addicted to Friends? You know, this one beats Friends. In all possible ways.
The Big Bang Theory (c) CBS
Have you heard of The Big Bang Theory? Saw an episode, didn’t understand any of the jokes and pushed the Stop button? Keep watching. By the time you’ll watch the 3rd or 4th episode, you’ll laugh at them and think that you might made a mistake with your career choice. Physicists are hilarious, especially the ones without any social skills!
Fringe? Fringe follows the exploits of FBI special agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Bishop, and his son, jack of all trades, Peter Bishop as they investigate aspects of fringe science (rare diseases, chimeras, transhumans with psychic abilities, teleportation, and so forth). Ohhh, I just love this one.
Bones (c) FOX
Bones. BONES! BONES!!! The show is based on forensics and police procedurals in which each episode focuses on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan. Emily Deschanel stars in the title role, opposite David Boreanaz as Special Agent Seeley Booth. The rest of the cast includes Michaela Conlin, T. J. Thyne, Eric Millegan, Tamara Taylor and John Francis Daley. It’s awesome. Believe me on this one, if not on others.
I’d have more episodes to recommend to you, but I don’t want you to think I don’t have a life. Although, you most probably already think so.
Cheers, keep your eyes peeled, socks on and sweaters clean!
Chillax (c) Austra Javalde
It’s the 6th day, since I’ve stepped on my home soil in Latvia. It has been a lot of fun, a lot of reunions and a lot of surprises. Majority of them very positive. Some of them not so positive – with recession and all. But I’ve pretty much understood that everything lies in your small and beautiful mind.
The most important thing is to walk the streets minding your own business. Get a large pair of headphones if you must. Put Belle & Sebastian on. Fantasize. Imagine. Plan. Make strategies. If you’re close to bankruptcy, use your imagination to come up with new ways of using the things you already have and don’t use. Don’t go to the clubs, make an in-house party with movies, cheap booze and clothes swapping. Play Monopoly or even hide-and-seek if you must. Even at hard times people have always somehow managed to get through. This is not a war, when you are losing the ones you love to the bullets and hatchets. No-one’s coming into your house and taking your children away, you know. It’s all in your head. Yes, the one that looks suspiciously pale today because of the reckless binge-drinking yesterday. The one that wishes that this was still Sunday. The one that possibly wishes you still had a job and money to pay your debts. Well guess what? This is not going to be a How to earn more money lesson. Because I’m no good at that. But I know one thing I’m pretty damn good at. Positive thinking. And imagination, come to that.
- Don’t talk about the crisis. Even if you’re at a pub and there is an uncomfortable silence between you and the person you want to talk pants-off. Talk about anything – refreshments (did you know that a hot tea is much more refreshing in a hot day than a cold coke?), music (well, I don’t have to give you ideas on this one, right?), Facebook (did you know that Facebook has recently launched a faster and lighter version called Facebook Lite?) or even me (did you know that I just spent the longest summer of my life? Eight months!)? Just change the subject. It’s not that difficult, I’m sure you can handle it.
- Spend more time with the kids. Even if you don’t have them. No, please don’t stalk kids on the streets, you’ll end up in jail. I’m talking visit your friends with kids and talk to them, hear their opinion kind of time-spending. You’ll find it refreshing and positive. And as Reamonn sung – this life is so complicated, until we see it through the eyes of a child.
- Watch TV shows. Sitcoms. Scrubs, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Black Books, The Big Bang Theory… These are my personal favorites, choose yours. Read books. The last really comforting book I’ve read is A Cat Called Norton: The True Story of an Extraordinary Cat and His Imperfect Human by Peter Gethers. You can borrow it, if you want. Turn the boring trolley bus rides in a world of your own. Put headphones on. Read. Don’t listen to others mumble about the sacking and hunger.
- Get out of the city. Go to the countryside. If you don’t have a countryside house of your own, invite yourself to one of your friends houses. Collect apples, plums, potatoes and camomile – it’s the right time. Make apple pies, plum jams… anything really. You’ll have a good time now and delicious treats in the winter.
- Tidy and clean your house. The poorer you are, the cleaner your house must be. Come up with new ways to make it even more personal. You have to feel at home at your home, don’t you?
- Meet old friends at weird places. Drop a line to a friend you haven’t seen for years and invite him to a picnic on the roof. To a clothes swapping party. To a gallery run. To a free concert. I’m sure you can come up with even better ideas. The main idea is – surprise people pleasantly, please! They’ve probably had enough of unpleasant surprises already. Stop drinking bad coffee at Starbucks or Double Coffee, please!
- Meet foreigners. No, I’m not talking about British stags who take a leak on the Freedom Monument. I’m talking about Couchsurfing.org, for instance. Offer them “Tea or Coffee and a show-around”. Hear their experiences. You’ll broaden your mind and have a great time. Not to mention, you’ll definitely do the possibly a bit lost traveller a favor, by showing the best places not mentioned on the tourist guides.
- Avoid reading news. I know this one is controversial, because you have to be a bit up to date, but still. If you do read them, read them as fiction novels. Don’t imagine those things happening to yourself. I’m not suggesting you to live as a Tibetan monk, or pack your bags and move to your imagination apartment, I’m telling you not to let all those bad things too close. It will do you no good.
So, anyway, the deal is – imagine, fantasize and create. Do you remember the line from Everything Is Borrowed by The Streets?
I came to this world with nothing, and I’ll leave with nothing but love. Everything else is just borrowed.
A-ha at The Roundhouse, Camden @ iTunes Live Festival, London `09 (c) Austra Javalde
Oh, dear, the last time I updated this space was erm, two months ago? It’s been too long! I promise to behave from now on. Anyway, I’ve had so much fun over these past two months. I’ve left Porto, Portugal and I’ve been in and out of London, UK, media events, concerts and pubs…
I’ve seen Newton Faulkner, Peter, Bjorn & John, Reamonn, A-ha, Ladyhawke and probably some other gigs, but I just can’t recall now.
I’ve been to exhibitions, museums, galleries, movies. I’ve kicked ass and ate ice-cream. I’ve hosted people and I’ve been a guest. I’ve loved and I’ve hated (not particularly proud of the last one).
I’ve watched Scrubs (love!) and True Blood (love even more!). I’ve cooked (the sky’s no limit for my cooking skills anymore!) and I’ve even went to grocery stores in the middle of the night to get myself more basil.
Reamonn at The Roundhouse, Camden @ iTunes Live Festival, London `09 (c) Austra Javalde
I’ve fallen in love with music even more. Remember Jamie T? He has a new Chaka Dem
us EP which I just can’t get out of my head. Remember Jamie Cullum? I recently found a song that he recorded with Katie Melua called Love Cats and it’s just lovable!
(me) This is how beer interacts with music (c) Marina Scukina
Thanks to the happiest bunny of all, I’ve discovered the mighty London Freeshop and it has given me a lot of amazing free dresses for my absolutely dominant feminine side.
The reason I came to London was… (confetti and fanfares!) I wanted to explore the job market and opportunities in UK. No strings attached. And well, I must say it’s quite hard to find a job in London if you don’t have any UK based job experience. So – I postponed this attraction for a year. And, in a bit more than a week, I’m returning to my beloved Latvia, Riga and in the same evening of arrival I’m packing my bags really quickly and going to Valmiera, my 2nd home, to have my first lecture in Latvian this year. All of the others have been either in Portuguese or in English. I already know I’m gonna love this.
Ladyhawke (c) Marina Scukina
But no worries, London, I’m coming back on the 29th of October for almost a week. So probably next year will be quite a travel again – between Valmiera, Riga and London.
That’s it for now, keep your eyes peeled, more coming in just a few days!
Psst... | Image © Austra Javalde (2009)
There is a beautiful small town in the North of Portugal, which just got trashed massively. As I’ve mentioned before, I have lived in Porto, Portugal for about four months now. Quite some time and yet, there is so much that I explored during these past days and so much I learned about the wonderful Portuguese people. But let’s not rush forward too fast…
Why the particular week?
There are a lot of reasons why this week was The One. But the main reason is the visit of a good friend of mine, also known as the Party Chipmunk of Latvia (Almighty). He might not have £100000 fun himself, but everywhere he goes, magic just happens. If he goes over to Porto for Sao Joao, you can count on the best celebration ever. If he goes to an unknown jazz club, there most certainly will be a DVD on with one of his favorite artists. He laughs. He jumps around like a Happy Bunny and sings along. He’s not a very big fan of hammers. He’s awesome humble and shy.
What happened exactly?
Well, I’m not going to tell you everything, mates! But this is just because at one point my memory just fails me. You know I’ve got nothing to hide from you. So – here goes…
Day One
The best view ever: two Latvians struggling with the lack of sleep. He had spent a night in London Stansted and I was too worried that I might oversleep, that I just couldn’t sleep at all. Although, we had a lovely walk to some of the sights, like Sao Bento rail station, the bridge of Luis I and Vila Nova de Gaia. When you come to Porto, make sure you cross the bridge of Luis I (that’s the only one the tube crosses, quite easy to spot) and go a bit up to the small park on the other side of river Douru and enjoy the splendid view on the whole cidade do Porto. Some say that the only good thing in Gaia is that particular view and port wine. Not sure that I agree, but we certainly tried both and I can say that the view causes much less unbearable headache in the next morning, than the port wine.
Day Two
There are quite a few Latvians in Porto. One of them is a really good friend of mine and she works at a wonderful bar at the seaside called Praia dos Ingleses (Portuguese: English Beach). Spontaneously, we decided to drop by and in the mean time check out the ocean. It turned out to be the absolutely right thing to do and we had a wicked time. Imagine – the ocean, waves, stars and cold beverages. Don’t quite remember the way home but it was very, very late. Here’s a tip: if you ever visit that bar – don’t buy rum & coke, it’s oddly expensive, choose something else. For us, the choice was gin & tonics. I think I can still taste juniper in my mouth. Ah, I almost forgot – before going to the beach, we saw one of the most awkward buildings in Portugal – Casa de Musica – the house of music. It’s the central place of the majority of the musical events – mostly Portuguese and world music. Moving forward to…
Day Three…
…took my breath away. I reckon I had never seen so many people in one place doing things so incredibly odd and lovely at the same time. Why? This is the day of the midsummer festival in Portugal. It’s called Sao Joao in Porto and Braga, two small towns in the North, and Sao Antonio in the rest of the towns and Lisbon, the capitol of Portugal (well, duh!). I can only tell you about the traditions of Sao Joao – been there, done that. At the celebration day, the anticipation is in the air. You can see trade folks on the streets selling plastic hammers, basil pots and garlic blossoms (I had no idea, they were so big!). All of the things mentioned before are essential celebration attributes, apparently. I’m going to elaborate on the hammer only. Buy one, you’ll need one. Even if you don’t like them at first, you will catch yourself paying that one or two Euros for it later. All of the people just walk the streets hitting each other with those hammers. They make a cute squeaking sound that will ring in your ears long after the party. It’s a lot of fun and you just have to give in. Also, there are wonderful fireworks at the Ribeira (Riverside) part of the town and when they end, people start walking to Castelo do Queijo (The Cheese Castle). It’s located in a huge roundabout, which is the central part of Matosinhos, the part of Porto with all the surfers, fisherman and ocean lovers. After the parade to ocean, you can write off the next days, because you will simply be half paralyzed, especially in the feet area.
Day Four
Waking up at about 2pm, after arriving home at about 7am, the first thought was: where are my shoes? Portuguese know how to party. They just do. This was the day that was supposed to be dull and sleepy, but it turned out that my friend had done his Googling and found a small jazzy-blues bar at the area of Sao Bento station. On our way to the club, he dragged me into a fun fair with those awful little cars with whom the biggest challenge is to hit as many other vehicles as possible. I was insanely afraid in the beginning, but surprisingly it turned out to be lots and lots of fun. When we got to the club, it turned out that there is no jam session after all, because everybody is sleeping after the yesterday’s party. We still went in to have a few beers and we ended up very pleased, because they were showing the live concert of John Mayer, which is a love we both share. Met some really nice Portuguese musicians and had an awesome time.
Day Five
The lack of beauty sleep is finally beating me, so we went to the nearest Wifi spot to get some internet and have breakfast and split our roads for me to sleep, for him to keep exploring. Instead of sleeping I finally managed to clean the enormous mess my room had turned into and read some case studies on the journalism ethics, because I’ll have to do the impossible – I will have to pass an exam after a week of hardcore parties. Let’s see how it works out.
Day Six
Being a good girl and skipping the amazing sightseeing ride to study for the exam. Waiting for my flat mate to wake up and plug my internet back to where it belongs. As I said I’m in Porto for about 4 months now and there is one thing that I would like to teach them, there is one tiny thing that I would never get used to, if I lived here permanently. Majority of them doesn’t understand the significance of internet. I’m pretty sure, that’s because they don’t know how to use it ways that will make a difference and help them do things better and faster. Thank god, my course mates stand beyond others. As for myself – I just need my permanent internet access. It’s not that I’m planning to use it all the time, it’s just – I need it to be there, be available. Is that so hard to understand?
Keep your eyes peeled, more details & pictures coming soon! And I’m more than sure
you don’t want to miss them! By the way, if you’re fortunate enough to be one of the approx. 1,4 million Latvian speakers – check out the videocasts, that we made..
(All of the characters are fictional and if you see any connection with reality, I advice you to call your shrink immediately)
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