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| Taking a smoke. |
Hi Everyone,
Jiri and I were out in Prague yesterday (near Vaclavske namesti), and saw this funny situation. In the picture above, there's a guy sitting on a sign and taking a cigarette break (on the second floor of the building), balancing with one foot on the building's ledge, while his buddy (standing on a scaffold) is doing some flashing work on a window. I just couldn't pass up this photo op. Really, the guy smoking reminded me of a classic book, The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek.
Have a great day!
God bless,
Sher :0)
PS The photo quality isn't very good as it was taken with my cell phone--the only camera I had along that day.
Photo credit: S. Vacik
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Hi Everyone,
Do you ever feel like you're living in the Twilight Zone? I have this kind of experience every so often; it's a normal part of life, isn't it? Well, having Twilight Zone experiences has been a definite part of my life over the years. This past week or so has been very interesting and challenging on many levels--from the weird to the funny and absurd.
Debating with an Atheist
Last week, I was at a conference with my husband, and we were eating breakfast one morning when an acquaintance joined us. Somehow, this person began talking about being an atheist and about some of the books they've read. OK...that's interesting. However, this person decided to pull me into the conversation, and wanted to debate about the issue of atheism and religion being the root of all evil in the world. I don't want to discuss this topic here, on Czech Off the Beaten Path, but only wanted to mention it as part of my Twilight Zone week. The conversation began nicely enough, but soon turned into a debate with me defending my own belief system.
At the end of our debate, my atheistic debate acquaintance said he respected my views and found that I wasn't a blind believer (meaning I have not gone along with the flow--dogma--but have in fact questioned and tested the teachings of Christ on my own). From an atheist, that's a compliment!
I should have known better than to be pulled into such a conversation in the first place. Never discuss religion, politics, or money when attending a scientific conference and you're sitting in the middle of a a room full of scientists! Well, I thought I had learned this lesson in the past, but evidently I didn't learn it well enough. Hopefully this time I learned the lesson and won't have to face it again in the future!
Elevator Craziness
This week has been full of weird experiences. The next "Twilight Zone" experience took place when Jiri got stuck in our building's elevator. This happens from time to time with all elevators. They one day decide to act up and stop in between floors for no apparent reason. Then the repairman comes and rescues those who are stuck and Life goes on. Jiri was stuck in our elevator one morning as he was leaving for work. Thankfully he was stuck in a spot where his cell phone would work, and he was able to call me. Jiri also called the elevator company and they said they would send someone right over. No problem, except we gave the elevator repairman the wrong address! We had given him the address for a neighboring building, rather than our own building.
It was very early in the morning when a brain isn't wanting to have to deal with these kinds of issues. When Jiri told me the repairman was on the way, I watched for him and was able to catch the guy's attention, so he did come to the right building. The repairman found where the elevator was stuck and let my husband out. After looking at the elevator's mechanism, he said it was full of dust from when the building was first constructed. The building owners know this, but don't want to pay to have the dust removed, and so our elevator regularly gets stuck. Evidently it's cheaper to call the repairman every time someone's stuck (almost once a month) than it is to clean the elevator shaft and mechanism. Now, after this episode, I'm trying to avoid riding the elevator when possible, which is usually when going the downstairs. That way, the odds of being stuck in the elevator are cut in half, and it will only happen when riding up!
The Mystery of the Missing Lab Tests
The last Twilight Zone episode for this week was with my general practitioner. I had to have some blood tests done, and I was told the results would be in the next day, and that I should call to hear the outcome of the tests. The next day when I called the doctor, he said the results were not in yet as there was a problem at the lab where the blood work's done. That's not something you want to hear when you're sick. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a problem, and wondered if this was a Czech way of saying they were running further tests, or they lost my blood, etc.
Well, the doctor said to call the next day and the results would be in. My full expectation was, of course, that the test results would be done and in my doctor's hand the next time I called.
Half the Tests Found
When I called the next day, the doctor informed me he had only received half of the blood test results. I was very surprised and wondered now what? My doctor proceeded to tell me that the half of the results we had were normal--that was good news. Then he told me the problem with the lab was due to the lab making a move from their old place to a new place. I almost started laughing with relief, but also at the ridiculousness of the situation. I've never heard of this happening before, in all my years of having blood work done. It was a bit on the absurd side! Anyway, now we are waiting for the next half of the blood test results, and I'm wondering what the doctor will tell me when I call next. Will he have all of this half of the blood test results?
These were some of the most absurd moments of my Twilight Zone week. I'm hoping this weekend will be more normal!
Have a wonderful, normal and happy weekend!
God bless,
Sher :0)
PS I would like to add none of these episodes of Twilight Zone Life took place because I live in the Czech Republic. Each of these happenings could have taken place anywhere in the world. It just so happens I'm currently living in the land of the Czechs and experiencing the Twilight Zone of Life! :0)
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(c) 2010 by czechoffthebeatenpath
Image Credit: GwenythC at Photobucket
Hi Everyone,
Finally, I have a chance to sit and write a post for Czech Off the Beaten Path. The past couple of months have been extremely busy and there wasn't really time to write posts. On top of lack of time, I wasn't even sure what to write about. Life came and took me for a ride on the river, but now I'm back and ready to get back to writing again.
August 2010
August was a very busy month. I traveled back to the US to spend time with my family. We met at my folks' home, in New Mexico, and spent wonderful and fun time together. After that, it was time for the kids to head back to their own lives, which meant taking one kid back to their own home, and moving our other kid back to university. That was a busy few days! After that, it was time for Mom to get ready for her upcoming back surgery. We took trips to see different doctors for pre-surgery checks, but we also managed to have fun shopping together and visiting about Mom-Daughter things. It was a busy, but fun time.
Then, the end of August, Mom had her very extensive back surgery. Mom had been in an agony of pain for two years, and everything the doctors and pain clinic tried did not help at all. Mom was literally to the point where she would be in tears after a grocery shopping trip. That is no way to live your life, and thankfully, Mom was guided to a wonderful surgeon who was able to diagnose the trouble. The surgeon had to basically reconstruct Mom's back. Mom's incision runs most of the way down her back, from her shoulders down. The good news is that the surgery was successful, and Mom's making a wonderful recovery. Her recovery time will actually be measured in months, but so far, she's ahead of schedule!
While Mom and Dad were gone for Mom's surgery, I was looking after the house and our dogs, Pal and Jade. That was an interesting week! It was my first time to be alone in the mountains since moving to the Czech Republic. It has been about four years since moving to civilized Prague, and I was worried I had lost my touch for managing life in the rural mountains of New Mexico. However, I realized that I could still build a good fire in the wood burning stove, and managed driving up and down the mountain roads in my Jeep Cherokee with no problem. It was nice to realize I still had the touch. The dogs and I kept the home fires burning till Mom and Dad got home about 5 days after Mom's surgery.
September 2010
September was Nurse Ratchet month! For the second time this year, I played the role of Nurse Ratchet, only this time, it was for Mom. I was first Nurse Ratchet, back in April, for my Grandma after she suffered congestive heart failure. It was interesting being Nurse Ratchet for Mom. Mom was an excellent patient and so the Nurse Ratchet didn't really have to use too much "persuasion" (force) to get her to do the things she needed to do. Mom's a real fighter, and wants so much to feel better, that she is actually ahead of the doctor's recovery schedule. My time was mostly used helping Dad take care of Mom, the house and the dogs, and cooking. Not bad at all, but it was a busy time, and there wasn't much time for writing. My role as Nurse Ratchet lasted for 4 weeks, and then it was time for me to return to Prague and my life here.
Realizations
Traveling back and forth between my family and my life in the Czech Republic has not always been easy. Making the switch back and forth, between two cultures, was a very challenging part of expat life for me on previous trips back to the US. But this trip was very different.
This time, the psychological "switch" in my brain was able to move more fluidly and smoothly than on past trips. What a realization! I was still overwhelmed by hearing so much English, at first, and was still overwhelmed by all the merchandise in the stores. Even so, I was able to make the switch between cultures faster and easier this time. I have to say that coming back to the Czech Republic was also easier than in the past after spending a few weeks back in the US.
My guess is that I've finally adapted to my life as an expat who is caught between two worlds (the Old and the New Worlds) and the cultures I have to live in and deal with in those both of those worlds. This has been an important realization for me, who began this expat life as the Reluctant Expat!
Decisions
During my time home, I had some downtime for thinking about many things. I was thinking about future projects and writing, and had some time to reassess different points in my life. Out of this contemplative time, I decided to begin my own website. That was a huge decision for me! Why my own website? It looks more professional, and I would have a home on the Internet for all my online activities. This website is a work-in-progress, but I hope to have it up and running this month (October 2010). I'm very excited about finally having my own website--my own home on the Internet!
Final Thoughts
The past two months have been very busy, plus I've ended up sick from the side-effects of prednisone (Cushing's Syndrome) and have caught a bad cold. Even so, the past couple of months proved to be not only busy, but turned out to be productive months, too. Going home to be with family and to help during a difficult time were wonderful. I have some expat friends who are not able to go back to help their loved ones in difficult times. I feel very fortunate that I was able to go home and help my parents.
Plus, I had some contemplative time to look at my life and make decisions about moving forward with my online life, and even my real life. I have some new goals to work on, as well as challenges. That's what Life's all about--spending time with loved ones, taking care of ourselves, and taking on new challenges and opportunities. I'm very thankful for these past couple of months, and all that those months contained. Now, I'm home and can move forward with the decisions made during those busy summer months! I'm very excited, and will keep you up-to-date with how things go from here!
Have a great weekend!
God bless,
Sher :0)
PS I am slowly getting caught up with emails, and also have to work on the comments to previous posts on this blog! Please be patient--I'll have that updated in the next few days! :0)
Czech Off the Beaten Path Website
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Sher's Stuff
Photo credit: kgbrum on Photobucket
(c) 2010 by czechoffthebeatenpath
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