Ithaca

Some Greek poetry for my overseas friends...

Ithaca
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure,
full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

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Konstantinos P. Kavafis (1911)

A day, what a day!

How many things can a day be for someone?

Today it is Good Friday for the Catholic Church. It is also the second Friday of the Greetings to Holy Mary, for the Orthodox Cristians. It is also the celebration of Holy Mary's Annunciation and so the nameday of my grandmother and my cousin. It is, also, the 184th anniversary of the War of Greek Independence (25 March 1821) and a day of parade, joy, pride and remembrance in Greece. It is, furthermore, the day that Anna goes back to Italy to spend Easter. It is, moreover, the day I asked for an extension for the CIDOC paper (late as usual) and a full moon.

...and it's not even noon...

Dreams and Realities

I am not sure what is better: to live in a dream, or to wake up in a better reality. I thought that I was really good in squash. I thought that (more or less) I was playing it right. I thought that I was sweating a lot playing. Well, this was just a dream. Today I played with Ross and I realized how deep I was sleeping. I woke up and I was not good at squash; I woke up and I was not playing it right; I woke up and I was sweating more than before. However, weaking up to this reality is far better than keep dreaming. Why? Because, in this way my dreams can become true: I will get really good at squash, I will play it right and I will sweat a lot...Eventually, I will beat Ross.

Coming back from squash and after managing to pull myself together, I watched the video recordings of the Wireless Cultures seminar at Tate Modern, back in 2003. Pete Gomes work is very interesting, quite close to subjects I am looking at as well: mobile devices and the urban space. I kept some notes listening to his presentation, but I need to find out more about his work (especially on his 'terraportals' and 'psychic interface').

Tonight was a dancing class night. Neither I nor Anna were focused this time. I stepped on her numerous times and my posture was miserable. Merenge was a disaster and Walsh had no rhythm. We did well though on Foxtrot, this was a survivor. But Rock & Roll was a shipwreck. I hope we do better next time, otherwise how can we go to the competition in Blackpool and win?

...Another dream to sleep on.

Squashing balls, study and food

It's been a while since last I looked through the kleidarotrypa. So, let's have a look...

Squash today was good. I and Magnus get better every time we play, although I am not sure whether we play squash right. I mean, we are not really familiar with the rules, so we kind of developed a shared and agreed way of playing suited to us. For example, we don't run up and down like we are on fire...as we should be doing. Both of us squash the ball twice on the row, if it is difficult for the other person to reach the ball on time. Magnus, also, never gives up: even if the ball hits the floor more than once...twice, three times (etc) he makes the most to bring the ball back in life, up and flying again. Knowing that something was wrong in the way we are playing I downloaded a short extract from a championship match. Well, not very helpful, since the players were hitting the ball so hard, that I could not follow their moves.

I have four full days and tonight to squash the paper for CIDOC. This will be really really tight...Still no news from the Mobile Learning conference. I read again the paper I sent them, and I don't like it...Well, 'too late for tears'. I am not sure whether going for conferences at that stage is the wisest thing to do. Nevertheless, it has given me back the hectic days that are usually the most productive ones.

I am still squasing (in my head and on the paper) the structure of the thesis. It's coming back to me slowly, but good enough to hit it again.

Lent is one week in. I am squashing it alright and for the moment I haven't had any huge crisis looking for chocolates...Well, I've never been a food lover anyway. Sadly, this Easter I will be spending it in the UK...again. A small sacrifice it is...