ho quasi finito

mercoledì 30 gennaio 2019

Salam Vazaha! {Madagascar : People}

We've come back from Madagascar after a two weeks trip exactly three months ago.

I haven't had the courage to go through the thousand of pictures I've took up until recently, and by this time, it's too hard to repost this as a diary. I don't remember what we ate which day, how many km we drove the day after or exactly what we saw. So I'm going to report this in a different way, with a lot of pictures and very few words, and I'm going to start with people.

Because people, this people, I clearly remember.

p.s. It's also too hard to do any kind of post production, mainly because I can't do post production, so the pictures you see here are exactly as I took them with my camera.

The number of kids popping up from every corner as soon as we stepped down the car, or even drove by, yelling "Salam Vazaha!" (Hello Foreigner!) was what impressed me the most. They are the friendliest and even if shy, curiosity drove them to see us. In some towns they were more accustom to see tourists, or foreigners in general, but in some others I really felt a little out place. Not because of anything they did, don't get me wrong. I've never, in fact, felt in danger or risks of any kind. Any. The truth is I've never been in such a poor country, and as much as I think I'm aware of how the world goes, my privileged life doesn't allow me to completely understand. I could have taken way more pictures, but I really wanted to also just look at them. Because look at them! Could you take your eyes away?

venerdì 18 gennaio 2019

What I've Learned This Week |Fourteen|

One.Days are getting looong. It’s so good to be able to see the sun!

Both in the morning before work but especially for almost an hour after work it feels like you can do so much more than potato couching until you can’t feel your legs.

Two. I read an article about finance and statistic ( #geek) that mention the Markowitz modern portfolio theory , i.e the “Efficient Frontier”.

It has always fascinated me since I first run into it I think during my first statistic class in university.

The theory states and proves that the link between risks and returns is not directly proportional.

You would think it went like fig 1, when actually it goes more like fig 2.

"Excuse the crudity of this model" Cit.

The efficient frontier explains why the line is curved : there is a diminishing marginal return to risk. That means that gains on returns get smaller and smaller for each unit of risk added to a portfolio.

That means that above a certain point, the gains are not worth the risks.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just apply this to life? Putting numbers in a file and easily decide until when to go for it? How much effort to put to have a reasonable benefit? I’m pretty sure there will never be an excel formula able to do that, but it’s nice figuring out that that’s actually the aim of it all.

Find the right hope to push it , always, so that the line will go onward and upwards as long as possible.

Three. For the new year, I’ve met with a friend and decided to do a list of things we want to accomplish, get done with, improve or start from scratch in 2019. It’s a list of 19 points. Some points aim for a repetition of 19. It’s very ambitious! Let’s see how it goes!

Four.the other night we were listening to a random playlist on Spotify while cleaning up the kitchen, like we always do after dinner, and “Build me up buttercup” came up. This song has such a meaning! On one of our first outings with friends the husband and I went to a karaoke bar (…and yet again, #geek)and sang this song like it was nobody’s business. It was more than eleven years ago. A rush of emotions came back: gloom, love, china blues and most of all, great gratitude for those moments, in the past, and in the present. Pretty amazing how a random R&B song from the 70s can do that.

Happy WeekEnd! Life is good!!

lunedì 22 ottobre 2018

Two Years

three houses lived in

one house bought

seven countries visited together for the first time

twelve Netflix series

fifty four plane rides combined

one hundred forty three nights apart

five road trips

five films at the movies

five friends hosted

countless discussion over new furniture and cabinets colour

two new jobs

seven hundred twenty eight very thriving, full, happy days

Lately I’m on a high of love and gratitude and so I intend to stay as long as possible.

Because it’s easy to be heavy and hard to be light.

and becoming better at being each other’s spouse must be what makes it light.

I definitely made an excellent choice.

domenica 30 settembre 2018

The One With All The Bees

"A colony of giant Bee sculptures took to the streets of Manchester for an art trail we’ll never forget…Wild in Art and Manchester City Council brought Manchester together this summer for Bee in the City, one of the most spectacular public art events the city has ever seen"

You can see them all here --> beeinthecitymcr.co.uk

Manchester City Councils has probably many problems and issues but creativity ain't one.

They were able to make us all very excited, and me extremely excited! to just walk around the city to look for the bees. It was wonderful. And after a two month open exposition they all went in auction and raised more than 1 million pounds for charity. Here the ones I was able to spot...not enough for sure!