A massive loss

When I was a kid, I used to collect stamps like many kids in that age. My father used to visit a stamp shop on his way from work and buy me the latest stamps as well as a few 'old' stamps occasionally. I vaguely remember some of those stamps commemorating certain occasions and being very colorful and beautifully and artistically drawn. As an organized kid that I was, I used to write the purchase price of those stamps - which were very little compared to today's costs - on small notes as I arranged them in the albums very carefully using tweezers. I guess I was hoping to sell those stamps to a hefty price later and make fortune out of it! I remember keeping those albums among my books in the library but the collection didn't grow that big as my father stopped the supply since he and I somehow lost interest in the years. I believe I had at least two albums which I kept in my library, one had a thick orange cover and the other which was smaller with a green cover. During a period of time, before or maybe after I moved out, I forgot about my little yet extremely valuable stamp collection. My negligence resulted in my dear collection being 'unattended' and needless to say, being lost in some mysterious process. Rumor has it that someone 'gave' it to somebody...just like that! Reminding myself about this loss makes my blood and tears boil up and it burns in the deepest corners of my body and soul. I can not possibly describe how much heartache it has caused as I look back, so I save my breath. Unfortunately, I have to admit that it is gone now and dropping tears of regret in the size of oceans can not repair the damage done by such a massive loss.

Sigh...deepest sigh!

On every street

I dedicate this song to some people that I know (they know exactly who they are!) whom I 'kinda' miss with no particular reason.

Words: Mark Knopfler

There's gotta be a record of you someplace
You gotta be on somebody's books
The lowdown - a picture of your face
Your injured looks
The sacred and profane
The pleasure and the pain
Somewhere your fingerprints remain concrete
And it's your face I'm looking for on every street

A ladykiller - regulation tattoo
Silver spurs on his heels
Says - what can I tell you, as I'm standing next to you
She threw herself under my wheels
Oh it's a dangerous road
And a hazardous load
And the fireworks over liberty explode in the heat
And it's your face I'm looking for on every street

A three-chord symphony crashes into space
The moon is hanging upside down
I don't know why it is I'm still on the case
It's a ravenous town
And you still refuse to be traced
Seems to me such a waste
And every victory has a taste that's bittersweet
And it's your face I'm looking for on every street

Is it over?

Someone said:" It ain't over till it's over!" That is indeed so true. but on the down side, of course it is f-ing over! My beloved LFC will not make it to the forth place in the league, the team currently residing on that place has already a 6 points lead, so despite all the efforts and hopes and tears and sweats, we are not going to make to Champions League next year. Better to focus 100% now on the Europa league title, the only possible chance of winning some silverware and end this drought. This league, however not so prestigious as CL, is damn serious - in my opinion - after the semis.

The question that has been daunting everyone, given the poor performance of this season which I'm sure has had its own reasons, is "Should he (Rafa) stay or should he go?" I would very much like him to stay but honestly, it is a bit hard to neglect the failure of this and last season and his costly mistakes in the run...pffff, je ne sais plus...encore!

Wise men said

Source: imgur.com

Differences of baseball and basketball

The baseball season has started, that is the majors and so on. I kicked off my practice last Tuesday which was surprisingly good in the first part despite the fact that we threw in a sandy parking lot. I ended up inevitably with cramps in almost everywhere but it was OK. All in all, it sure feels good to pick up your glove (which I should 'maintain' with lotion) and play some catch. The bad thing is, due to laziness and bad winter, my throwing skills have not evolved much since last and 'the same issues' remain. Anyway, I thought it would be good occasion to write this post down, which was standing in line for long.

When I first started playing baseball, I was inevitably comparing this new sport with basketball which I had played in many years. The differences, as opposed to what I had written a while ago, while being quite obvious e.g. the game tempo to say the least, are significant. For instance, in baseball, you have different gear for different positions. You have catcher's gear i.e. face mask/helmet, mitt (catcher's gloves), knee and leg guards, chest protector to start with. Then you have different gloves: 1st baseman glove, infielder's glove, pitcher's glove, outfielder's glove and batting gloves. Although one might claim that there are very little or no differences between pitcher and infielder (2nd, SS and 3rd)'s glove, I am sure that there are plenty out there who would argue that. In basketball, there are not much of gears for players. I mean except for shoes - that might differ from position to position, something which I personally don't buy - there are only wrist or headbands which any player can use if they wish to, but it's not necessary. In baseball, you may also need additional gear to be able to perform better or maintain your equipments, things like gloves lotions, tar for batting, glove mate (to protect you palms), sunglasses, cups and batting helmets (very important protection gear), sliding shorts and etc. In basketball, gears of such nature, if existing, don't have much of a significance.

Some other differences in terminology:

Baseball: uniforms, Basketball: jersey and shorts
Baseball: cleat, Basketball: sneakers
Baseball: umpire, Basketball: referees
Baseball: dugout, Basketball: bench
Baseball: manager, Basketball: head coach
Baseball: field, Basketball: court

This is what I have off the top of my head for the time being. I probably had more differences in mind when I first thought of this but it's gone now, maybe I come back to it later, we'll see...

Violet* syndrome

Definition

Violet syndrome is a syndrome that almost all of us are suffering from. By us, I mean everyone who is born in the country (boundary) with 'abundance of jewels' aka "marz-e por gohar". The severity of this syndrome varies for different individuals but if you, for some reason, decide or even are forced to reside outside that 'boundary', you are having, beyond reasonable doubt, a moderate to very tense case of this syndrome as this syndrome is activated as soon as one leaves or is about to leave the boundary. This syndrome, however not life threatening in most cases, may not bother you on daily basis, but it does come to surface every now and then and does its subsequent damage to your mental health to say the least.

Diagnosis and symptoms

The most significant symptom of this syndrome is the limitation and the restraints that it applies to your traveling freedom. This means that every time you want to travel outside that 'boundary' or to any given country - and this covers almost every destination on this planet with one or two exceptions - you are forced to go through a certain process called visa application process. There are many confirmed cases of people with this syndrome who have expressed pain and anguish (to different degrees), physical and mental distress, unnecessary loss of time and money, humiliation, discrimination and etc. while going through the latter process solely due to this syndrome. In some severe cases, the effect of this syndrome extends beyond traveling matters as it may reduce your employment or study opportunities and subject your future plans and progress to unpleasant halts. In diagnostics of this syndrome, I must add that the severity of it depends on the fact that how much one is bothered by these limitations or how many times one faces situations where such syndrome is the cause of major obstacles.

Causes

As mentioned before, this syndrome is caused by the fact that you are born within that boundary and therefore, are entitled to own a beautifully brown colored passport - i.e. the distinct sign of the syndrome - with the seal of 'that government'. The uncanny intelligence that the leaders of that government have used consistently throughout the years has caused the country to grow an amicable and mutually respected political relationship with most of the countries in the world and this has led to irrational and unnecessary suffering of many of our fellow citizens.

Prognosis

Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to avoid or prevent getting this syndrome. Your parents, if they plan in advance and foresee such thing, most probably due the fact that they had to experience it, can prevent it for their future child. However, depending on your country of residence, after many efforts and going through many bureaucratic operations, you may be able to find a cure for this and remove the harmful effects of this syndrome to a great extent.


* I chose the name 'Violet' for this syndrome since a good friend of ours - with the same name - had a severe case of it.

Small pleasures

I just saw the following list called "101 small pleasures to enjoy everyday", something which I found quite cheesy but nevertheless, on the front page of a famous! website. While I don't agree with all the items in the list, I found some of them to be worth of a tiny moment of pondering, hence I decided to take a note of some of them. Here are MY everyday pleasures which doesn't necessarily reflect that I experience them on daily basis:

1. An early morning swim
2. A perfect cup of coffee
3. Ice cream
4. The way babies smell
5. Waking up in good mood...for no real reason
6. A midnight glass of cold water
7. Laughing your ass off
8. A good exercise
9. Clear blue sky
10. Hookah after a great (preferably heavy!) meal
11. A finger scoop of peanut butter/Nutella straight from the jar
12. An upbeat energizing song
13. A novel you get lost in
14. Finding an amazing book...on sale
15. Pomegranates
16. Singing in the car
17. Watching sunshine high in the mountains
18. The cold side of the pillow
19. A baguette - crisp on the outside, airy on the inside
20. 'Those eyes'

Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic

Characters in my favorite movie, "The Big Lebowski"

Source: From imgur.com

The Hurt Locker

Is name of a award winning movie (nominated for several academy awards this year) which pictures the stories of a EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) army unit while serving in Iraq. The story is said to be based on experiences of a journalist embedded with army forces who published a best-selling book. The movie follows this EOD unit as they work with defusing bombs and face the dangers of unknown enemies and predominantly hostile environment, and immense pressure as well as internal frictions as the new leader Sgt 1st Class William James - a reckless, experienced vet - takes charge after death of previous sympathic leader due to a remote bomb detonation. The behavior of James is so irrational and even funny which adds more suspense in movie flow. Overall, it is well made movie with a solid story and good acting, definitely worth watching specially if the viewer sticks to a neutral political stand. However, I think the movie is roughly 10-15 minutes too long and some parts of the movie have been weakly produced and are incoherent with the main story. Some main characters, at times, have not been well explored and therefore, some of their actions are rather incomprehensive to some audience.

Final remarks:

1. I particularly like the opening quote which says," The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

2. Movie tagline: "You don't have to be a hero to do this job, but it helps."

3. According to wikipedia.org, the title is slang for being injured in an explosion as in 'they sent him to the hurt locker'.

A new hobby

Right after having a lazy Christmas break which was marked with gluttony and sloth, I yearned - yes, that's right, yearned! - for certain circumstances like heavy mountain climbing in bad weather for a couple of days that would leave me dead tired so that I would have a very nice and smooth recovery afterwards. Obviously, it came from excessively practicing those two deadly sins during the break and a book that I was reading at that time. My friend finally talked me into try skiing, and after resisting all the calls in the past 9 years, I gave it a shot and after first 3 sessions, I was not attracted to it at all.

Well, here I am now: I have skied at least once a week in the past 2 months, sometimes in some demanding conditions i.e. -19 degrees, heavy winds, power snow, fog, darkness etc. I have even bought all the necessary gears, and I am having a blast! I can't believe myself changing mind so quickly and keep on pushing despite all the minor and major incidents that have happened from time to time.

Some final remarks:

1. Right now, I do feel like that there is some time lost and I should have started earlier but hey, better late than never, huh?

2. I guess one should make the best of the conditions. Given the climate that I live in, better to make something out of it rather than being depressed by it. I am now falling from the other edge; I don't want the winter season to end!

3. Understatement: Skiing is much easier than Baseball!

4. My friend, P, told me, " Skiing is one of the few pleasures that you can do, with your clothes on!"

5. Strange thing that I was not a bit inspired by Winter Olympics at all. However, when it comes to weather and the amount of downpour, this was possibly the best timing to start this thing.