Effectiveness

Today I found the key to effectiveness :)

In the morning, if you first do the most important job and only after that check your email, you will achieve twice more!

Why? Just because :)

Done!

***
State exam passed. Studies are getting to the end.

***

Oh, this exam! Of course, it couldn't go without challenges, because this is me :)

Look, they divided us into 2 groups. I am Khaletskaya, so I was supposed to go in the second part, which starts at 12.00. So, I decided to come a bit earlier, to 11. Woke up at 8, slowly dressed up and went to the university. It was 10.40, when my dean called me screaming: "Katya, where are you? State exam is getting over, you are the only one who left!" Can you imagine?

I am running to the classroom, taking a card and uff... Meanwhile my groupmates can't help smiling - "Katya, you are so funny, as usual". They still remember me coming to exams with a huge bag, because in several hours I am flying to Almaty.. :)

So, excellent mark and it's really over now :)

***

On my way back home I was thinking about my 5 years of studies.
I came up with the idea that during these years I've been following 3 main principles:

- Not to use cribes.

- Love what you study.

- Take much more care for what you really learned, and not for which mark you got. Well, I will put it differently. Of course, I wanted to get excellent, but only for the subjects I liked.

I realized that professors like when a student shows that he/she adores the subject.

I remember one case when I was passing exam and was asked a question about taxation for medium enterprises. While answering, I said something like: "Yes, I was also interested, why it is so..." I saw my professor smiling when I said "interested". I can imagine how rarely they hear these words from students..

This is the thing that often made me upset during my university years. Why do the people study? Just to get diploma?...

One more case. Once I was taking exam on economic analysis. It was my favorite subject of that semestr and I was so excited to study and learn! However professor said he's going to give me "4".

It was the last exam of the session, I could be deprived of stipend if I didn't pass. Yet I told that I was not going to have "4" on my favorite subject and I would re-take the exam. I did it! Although being refused of stipend 6 following months, I was happy to have "excellent" mark for the subject I liked.

Another case. During my 2 months in Siberia this year I was supposed to do 3 university projects for 3 different subjects. I spent a month for the first one - "Investments in regional economy", however (I am almost sure!) professor even didn't read it. I spent 1 week for the second one - "Taxation for medium and small enterprises". Those 2 ones I really loved. And I spent 2 nights for "Finance of the firm" despite it is the main subject on my faculty...

Not sensible enough? OR Choosing what makes me happy?

One-year Flight

There is a saying: where you meet a New Year, you will spend your year in this place. Quite an old saying, almost a joke nowadays.

I met 2007 at the airport.

Did I intend to meet anyone there in the night? - No.

Did I plan to fly far away from Moscow? - No.

Did I forget about the-most-important-celebration-of-the-year? Not at all :)

It was my mother who was so anxious to find out - WHAT is happening at the airport during the New Year night.

And it was me who was away from parents' house for more than half a year, and so much willing to be with them during this magic night, therefore didn't care about the place.

***

We came to Domodedovo (international airport, the closest one to my home town) half an hour before midnight.

Almost no one there :)

A sudden announcement: "Dear passengers, aircraft XX with flight number XXX from Egypt has just landed in international airport Domodedovo..."

"If someone asks us who we are and where we are going, lets tell them that we are meeting our lovely relatives coming from Egypt" - my idea seems to be sensible :)

Yet people here don't care much about crazy Podolsk citizens.

Everyone has its own deals and thoughts:

- waitress in a cafe, regretting for a misfortune to work in a new year night... probably she has a boyfriend who has to be alone or with friends, but not with her... because she is here at the cafe serving visitors...

- poor passengers waiting for a flight to Ashkhabad (Turkmen airlines), which is delayed for 4 hours...

- a group of sleeping people spending night in the airport before their 6am flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (in some hours they will start a cross over 1/6 part of the world...)

... And near all these scenes... my family and me drinking coffee with cheesecake, taking pictures and laughing as we are aliens from Mars :)

***
Meanwhile it's getting to 23.59. The most important moment, the culmination of a trip, the beginning of the year!!!

What will they (=airport personnel) wish to their guests?!

"Dear guests, we congratulate You with a New Year of 2007! ... We wish you happiness, cosiness and nice flights with Domodedovo company" (actually in Russian it was even funnier: "уюта и приятных полетов с компанией Домодедово")

I wonder how these two things could go together :))) look, guys, your clients are waiting for 4 hours to get a flight which is delayed and you are wishing us cosiness with your company?!

I am just kidding - you can't imagine how much I was grateful to these greetings of a nice woman on the airport radio :)

... The passengers who had been sleeping suddenly woke up ...

... Clients of Turkmen airlines switched on a TV (yes, they a mini-TV set with them!!) listening to New Year speeches of a President (Which country? :)

... Male young waiter from another cafe opened a bottle of champagne and, screaming and rushing around, friendly embraced the waitress from our cafe ...

... We clinked glasses of filter-coffee, ate up the desserts and went home :)

***

While going to the exit my brother and me took some pictures...

Parents couldn't help asking: "Why are there so few people in the airport??"

My brother: "Mom, why for a normal person to go here in the NEW YEAR?"

I am smiling and thinking - WHY not? :)

Paris, je t`aime

Movie pretends to be a masterpiece. Many people told it’s gonna be WOW.
Yes, it’s not a premiere any more, and I had too many expectations.

9.00 performance, the cheapest price ever, my favorite cinema near Moscow zoo. All these lead to an exciting morning.

***

2 hours passed and I can say. I liked it. 16 love stories made by different directors in the city of love, what is more romantic?

However there was something that irritated me. Today I realized what it was.

The message of the movie is obvious. Paris is the city of love, and everyone will find his/her love here, whoever you are: girl, guy, old woman, ugly man or even vampire!

Everyone goes to Paris and finds love! So simple. A good hope for someone who is looking for a love affair. The same thing like to believe in power of astrology, lets say Cancer and Sagittarius are not suitable for each other. What a naivety!

So, what do a movie suggest to the lonely person? Go and sit in the café waiting for a handsome guy or beautiful girl for 2 days until waiter stares at you? :)
OK, even if you meet him/her, nice news. Yet everyone can find his/her love in Paris, it’s easy, but try to do this in Moscow!
Look, these things don’t work with me. I would not go to Paris to find my love, and not because of the fact that I already found it 3 years ago.

It’s just too fondly :)

Another point I was thinking about is the duration of this easy love.
If you don’t put much efforts into the searching process (and the movie proves this fact!) you may loose it with the same speed as you found it! And, of course, in the same city :)

So, good luck!

It’s said “Paris, I love you!” Probably, people love Paris because it helped them to find their love. And now they love their city, and they made a nice movie about it.

…Meanwhile I am sleeping in the elbow-chair in the cinema. Luckily, vampires fall in love and start shouting – I am waking up. What’s the next story?

Coming back to important: WHY did they make this movie? To invite more people to the 'beautiful city'? To prove the stereotype about Paris? To bring some hope to a lonely person?

...At least I enjoyed French language :)