Blood

One of the strangest experiences in life is giving blood. I believe very strongly that it is our duty to give our blood when we are healthy, it is something that can help people in ways most of us can't imagine. I try and give blood when I am in the country and the time has rolled around again, so despite being tired and grumpy, I went to my local hospital and sat in the large hall with everyone else trying to be community minded.

Outside the hosiptal were two large vans who were picking up the blood that had been donated and whipping it off to local hospitals. Past this serious sight I wander into the hall which is bizarrely playing Love Shack by the B52s and sit down and wait. After answering the questions about my personal and sexual health , I am laid on a bed ready for the real process of giving a whole pint of my blood. The nurse chats as she tries to find a vein, I am sure that I have a couple in there somewhere.

It feels wierd, I watch the blood drain and make small talk with the nurse. I stare at the other people and become fascinated by the ones that clearly do this all the time. They come armed with a book and are nonchalant, where I am too interested in what is going on around me to relax. I feel good about giving blood, but I also feel a sense of duty. There are crazy things that happen in the world and I think that if you can make the worst day of someones life a bit better, then we should. I lose myself in the morality of what I am doing but the strangeness overwhelms everything else in the room, needles, my blood and people everywhere.

Heaven street seven

So, I have been listening to the album for a few days now and I think I have learnt something. I have learnt that my rubbish dictionary is not clever enough to hold all the words that HSS use to express their emotions. I have learnt that the internet is not big enough to have a direct translation of the hungarian songs and so I am singing lyrics that could mean anything. I have also learnt that listening to foreign music, and reading the lyrics at the same time makes your hungarian reading tons better. All I need now is to understand more than three words per song.

I have booked my flights and am now defianately sorted with an apartment. It is bigger than the place I thought I would take initially and so I am happy with the extra room. I should be able to fit J and M in when they come in the summer, N and I when they arrive in October, and I am still dreaming that Ally will decide that she really wants to come for Christmas and now she will have her own room. I am sure there will be lots of others too, L and E are also planning a visit this year and of course N and K and baby A will be just a little way away. Yes, happy with the new apartment, I just hope that this one is not haunted.

Slow boat to China

There is a Chinese theme that runs through my family at the moment, as every Monday we sit down and watch the documentary series 'Paul Merton in China'. My sister in law is Chinese and she sits and puffs when he is sarcastic, whilst feeling happy at the sound of Chinese voices and familiar sights. B is from Northern China, but the documentary didn't go to the industrial north and stayed in the southernm cities mostly.

My eldest brother lived in China for many years and travelled around Mongolia too. I was too busy teaching and lolling around Eastern Europe to have the will or the money to go and see them when they lived there. In summer 2008 they will move back there permanently and I find myself thinking about saving my pennies so that I can see China through their eyes. Our house is very Chinese influenced, food and decorations everywhere link us to Bs homeland. I wonder if there will be a little bit of Yorkshire in China when they return?

I like Mondays

I decided before the holidays that I was not going to work Mondays until the end of term, so I am currently only in school four days a week. That means that Mondays are free for me to do as I choose. The theory was that this would be time spent studying Hungarina, or sorting through boxes, visits to the post office, sorting out bank accounts and foreign currency and a million other things that I do not want to leave until the week before I go.

As it is, Mondays have turned into leisure time. Today I am going to play hooky from my organising responsibilties and hide in the cinema. I like it when nobody knows where you are, and I like to see the road behind me as I drive away somewhere. I really am obsessed with movement and even a half hour drive can satisfy me sometimes. Maybe I will at least listen to my new Hungarian music on the way in the car, two birds with one stone.

Quest for knowledge

Today I combined my adoration of the wonder we call 'itunes' with my thirst for knowledge of the Hungarian language. After a search on the internet I found an article about a popular Hungarian band called Heaven Street Seven. A quick flip to itunes and I had downloaded one of their albums a few years old called Cukor. I think that means sugar as the Polish word for sugar is Cukier.

I have been listening to the album in the car this evening and I think it is going to really help my pronunciation. I am starting to get to grips with the sounds and am reading with less of a stumble over the words. I am absolutely determined to be able to say a few words, some basic phrases before I get there. I just want to feel a little bit of familiarity in the language when I arrive.

Finding the time to put into study is quite something, but the reality is that I would rather read my grammar book and listen to the music than anything else. I am not in the frame of mind to concentrate on anything other than the move. Less than two months to go now, seems like I am always waiting for something.

Some Friday frivolity

You Are Sauvignon Blanc

Engaging and energetic, you have a lot to offer the world - most of it they've never seen anywhere else! You are the type of person who carves your own path in life... and you invite everyone else to come along. The only thing predictable about you is that you could have anything up your sleeve. You're all about sampling all of life's experiences. Both the savory and unsavory ones. Deep down you are: Laid back and young at heart Your partying style: Anything goes... seriously! Your company is enjoyed best with: Smoked meats or spicy food

What Kind of Wine Are You?

If music be the food of love...

I have a somewhat unhealthy relationship to my IGB Ipod nano and I often dream of a proper 80 GB model that would allow me room to house my whole music collection under a small pocket sized roof. I have set up my itunes account and have been downloading like crazy these past couple of days. There are five songs that I am listening to over and over and they stir such emotions in me, for all sorts of reasons. I love music, it has the power to change my mood in an instant, make me giggle, or make me cry. These are my current faves

1) Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
I love the video for this song and I love her voice. This is sad, but she sings it with such melancholy power. Brilliant.

2) The Manic Street Preachers - La Tristessa durera
This is an old song that makes me remember driving the first car I bought with the drum beat and guitar turned up so loud that the whole car seemed to shake. The lyrics are political in places and great for when I feel angry or hyped up.

3) Claude Debussy - Clair de Lune
Ever since I saw the film 'Frankie and Johnny' I have liked this piece of music. I don't know much about classical music, but I do love this.

4) Stereophonics - Long way round
This theme from the series of the same name makes me dream of the open road. I want to feel dust on my face and see the parts of the world that I am too poor to be able to find.

5) Queens of the Stone Age - First it giveth
I saw QOTSA with TFT when I lived in Warsaw and this was one of the tracks that I bounced around to in Stodola, the little venue we went to. The gig was outstanding, I like to think that I am a rock chick at heart and listening to QOTSA makes me feel like I am not old, I am still cool.

I think I will turn this into a meme and tag Kinuk, Franje, Sognatrice and Tatiana. Five of your most listened to songs and the reasons why.