a calm balance

if i had one word to describe 2011 - that would be 'calm'.

if i had some more... i would say: a year of accomplishments, some new challenges and peace.

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while i experienced some personal, family and friend-related emotional turmoil in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, this year was calm.

nothing outstandingly good or bad happened. life was kind of relaxed. we had plans to follow, we had a definite need for peace and understanding and we did everything we had to to achieve that.

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highlights of 2011 include, but not limited to:

both my kids passed the entrance exam for a good high school with good marks (april)

the women's choir had two performances in finland (may)

the writers's group published an anthology in which i have two poems and two short stories (june)

i had my dental implants set for good good (late june)

a canoe adventure with friends (august)

i have a permanent job (as of december)

the novel i wrote passed round one in a rounds of selection, where the winners get published (december)

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at i type these lines with a fun evening ahead of us (we are planning to have lots of games this new year's eve, such as board games, activity and the like....) i also contemplate the role of blogging in my life.

the frequency of posts this year reflects the calmness of the year.

(i have not written that much poetry or short stories, either.)

but does any of us remember the era of memes? when a blogger asked like 5 questions, interviewed her/himself and by tagging someone else, passed the game along?

do bloggers still play it?

would you care to play it this time, again?

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this meme has the following questions:

1-

name at least three events of 2011 that made you feel proud, happy, or competent

2-

name at least three of your goals for 2012

3-

add anything to the list you want :)

and i'm tagging you.

shared storytelling

i've just learned from Jason's site that the blog i saw lighting fall has a shared storytelling event this Christmas. i think i'm already late with this story... the aim was to put it up by Christmas night. the two other conditions were the following:

1-there should be exactly one hundred words.

2-the story should definitely hit a certain factor of creepyness, but the writer is free to write anything.

so, here're my 100-words story. just like Paul's heart-warmingly beautiful piece, mine is based on reality, too.
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Mom warned me on the corridor. Reaching over 90, Grandma has started to talk to her late husband.

Leaves clashed against the windowpanes while Mom walked towards the nurse.

The door was slightly open and I entered the room.

Grandma smiled with effort.

- You finally came to me.

She was unable to sit up, let alone walk. She has been in the same bed for three years.

I kneeled on the soft carpet.

- Grandpa’s waiting.

- You saw him too – her eyes gleaming in anticipation.

I nodded, turned my head away, but she was already watching something else.

former pm in jail

blah, he was only there for a couple of hours.

read THIS and come back for the truth :)

Gy.F. was unfortunately released shortly after being arrested. his calling his detention an 'absurdity' is a clear reference to 'absurdistan', a name liberal and cynical people often call our country. i think our former prime minister should have been arrested much earlier.

like back in 2006.

what happened in october 2006?

according to the article, people were rioting.

according to the liar (aka Gy.F.), the police was ordered to not harm the protestants.

(i already sense some incongruency here...)

and the fact is something else. as per usual when you are dealing with news from hungary... :(

today, there was about a 40-something crowd playing the democracy card in front of the building of the national parliament. the police made them go away by courting them away.

some of them were taken to jail for a couple of hours.

and that is all.

back in 2006, hundreds of onlookers and peaceful protestors, including the elderly, were abused by the police. water bombs, gas sprays, whatever. there were some serious injuries, like the loss of eyesight. i think i did posted about it. i am still quite outraged about it.

today these young what-not-else-the-world-is-ours liberal politicians, chain themselves to each other and the police guides them away.

and voila, our former pm appears, joins the party to place just another hit on his opposite, Orbán.

updated ?

why?
i was so happy with the former type of settings.
i kept receiving messages about the *new*, *updated version* of blogger.
with some misbelief, i kept saying no.
the new version was not installed.
i was kind of happy.
until this very day, when the usual settings disappeared.
i was FORCED to try this new version - and this is just exactly how the system takes control.
blah.
i wish i had the chance...
no.
i'm already eaten.
:(

hiking near the capital

these photos were taken on 6 november in the buda mountains. the exact location is called 'szenasok', meaning 'hay fields' because the slopes were used for producing and collecting animal fodder.

it is within a one hour ride by car from budapest.

join us in this virtual tour and enjoy the photos!

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'intelligent people never litter, all the others are not allowed to'

a great view. you can see the limestone.
a lizzard. sorry for the quality.
juniper berries. they taste delicious. i only ate two, just in case ;)
boys enjoying fighting. they never seem tired of playing swordsmen with sticks. they pretend to attack and defend their imaginary castles. both these boys will turn 15 this december and next february. i'm so glad and thankful they have not lost their interest in playing normal, non-virtual games like real fighting.
on the way home. i'm wearing the green jacket that my son used to wear last year. now my son has gone larger than i. that's also great: i have a new jacket, just free of charge :)

my son and his friend with his dog. i love this phot very much.
my daughter walks in a valley and in this final picture, she makes a message out of stones. it reads 'we were here'.

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