Josef Conrad and his English writing

A pain in my eyes. I shouldn't have been writing till 2 am. a computer is not so safe as a paper. But my diploma is growing a word by word. :) On the BBC a conversation with 3 University lecturers about Joseph Conrad, unfortunately when they attempted to explain why this Polish writer brought up with Polish and French language had decided to write in English my coffee machine went noisy and I couldn't hear the answer. Anybody knows? But it was in some way quite satisfying to hear how they struggled to pronounce properly names of his Polish relatives and friends... I know I shouldn't say (feel?) that but well, I do feel a satisfaction, so I am just honest. I suppose this kind of satisfaction roots in my internal mental problems manifested at the moment in my "English language case" but let's stop that psychoanalysis at this point. I read somewhere (in the Guardian?) that Susan Sontag described Conrad as "the one who speaks broken English..." and it helps as well.

Anyway, I have to rush as I need to pop in to the library on my way to work.

No more moaning!

I decided to stop moaning.
I am just unbearable.
No wonder nobody read it.
I wouldn't if it wasn't my blog...
Enough is enough.
Hence lets enumerate 10 nice things recently happened:


- 1 day of beautiful winter (see above)
- a nice birthday supper
- I have meta nice girl and we arranged to meet this week (a new friend?)
- I got beautiful birthday card signed by all people at my work
- delicious cake made by Somebody so I can take it today to work and say thank you for your beautiful card
- I have a brilliant job
- they need me in London as well as they call me quite often recently to ask if I can work there
- I became a student again and can do a diploma project
- I have already prepared (in my head) a plan of work and only need to write it down and send to my tutor (well, of course, before I need to have it edited by an English person...)
- I need to execute it
- People I emailed replayed to my emails ready to help in my project

Well it's even more then 10 and I have just started!!!

However I have to finish and start dry ma hair otherwise I will be late to my dreamed work. Have a great day! :)*

PS. I made only 5 misspelling - 4 of them caused by my absentmindedness. What about a grammar?

My Birthday

Well, it's gone well - only one, maybe 2 culture clashes/misunderstandings at work, nice atmosphere at work and at home. 3 glasses of wine in the evening.
Forget about a party planned for 30 people that will have changed into 2-day marathon of friends of your friends' friends at your door. And don't think about coming back and doing it next year at home. They are not there neither. All of them are now spread around of the world.
But I don't feel old as everybody predicted. Ha!

Too busy to do anything? :>

Civil Servants have gone on strike... now it is not only The National Gallery (with its Holiday issue) but all galleries, museums, libraries, councils... Partially there is why I am at home today. And I should carry my diploma research (yes I have got back to studying! :) ) The thing is that I have been thinking about it all week long and can't think anymore. At least not today? I have downloaded enough material to read all day long so maybe I do that at least? I really need some push today ;) The good think of having my research to do is that I am not so afraid of losing my job - even if it happen I will still have something to do, something that is now much more important that the job. Hmm... I know it is not reasonable way of thinking. But I am still trembling when I think about this possibility, I am... Fortunately I don't have much time to think about it, as I still haven't decided yet what that project will be about! Of course I have some general ideas but precisely? but objectives? but... anyway, I will manage. I HAVE to. Loads of love to anybody who jumped here for long enough to have it read .

Waiting for Godot

Yes, today I am absolutely sure - they will sack me any day. I just feel it. Am I paranoiac? And I begin to hate this job because of my fear. It is a paranoia. What's wrong with me? Why am I so obsesed with my English??? So under-confident?

(...)

And I cannot go back to my country neither...
How could you be back to the country where a Vice-minister of Education says: "We will manage without tolerance" or that "the theory of evolution is a lie." How??????????

"I did say that the theory of evolution is a lie. I am convinced that this is a mistake that was legalized as the prevailing truth. For me this is more of a story that belongs to the realm of fiction, you could even base a science-fiction movie on it.

The very theory of Darwin was modified while he was still alive, [the scientists] provided facts to undermine this theory. In general, you can treat Darwinism as a loose concept created by an elderly non-believer who viewed the world in this way. Maybe this is because he was vegetarian and lacked inner fire."

and

"So what is going to happen to the teachers who according to scientific findings will teach the theory of evolution? Quite recently the head of the National Teacher Training Centre lost his job because he allowed for a discussion about homosexuality in schools…

There you go! This is the most drastic form of lies: that two individuals of the same sex can form a relationship. I mean it does happen, but you cannot legalize it because it ruins our civilization.

And I will never contribute to a situation in which in school you could find a textbook that advises you to find the a representative of the gay movement, invite him to class so that he can tell that human rights are being violated because they cannot adopt children.

But this textbook only encouraged to be tolerant and posed questions...

But can there be such a question? No way! I represent the views of a civilization in which I was formed. We have to make sure this civilization survives.

Where is the space, then, for tolerance of different worldviews?

Oh, the world used to manage without tolerance and it will keep on going without it. We cannot have a couple of maniacs deciding about the fate of our civilization… "

See: http://www.crin.org/enoc/resources/infodetail.asp?id=11226

....where the news from my country appear as realted to those from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon...

New job

I have been offered a brilliant job, I cannot believe they offered it to me... and it causes problems - anytime I am at work I am so terrible stressed that I behave like Woody Allen in Play it again Sam. And my English is worse then ever - I keep losing words, mixing grammar my voice while speaking is so high that I am likely to be heard by bats... I have to take it easy (easier at least) otherwise they will sack me....but how????? I love that job so much...