Dr. Filomena

Pazi, v kaj boš zagrizel. (Detajl kipa pred Musée d’Orsay; foto dr. fil)

Stavka dela javnega sektorja? Vem le, da

• je izračun vrednosti mojega (davno prepisanega) stanovanja prispel na naslov prejšnje lastnice;
• je sicer zelo uporabni in dobrodošli sistem podaljševanja veljavnosti prometnega dovoljenja takrat, ko sem ga potrebovala, zaradi tehničnih težav sprejel samo možnost plačila z Moneto, ko se je postopka lotil kolega, pa niti to ni več bilo mogoče. Vsaj v mojem primeru je bila komunikacija s tehnično podporo počasna in neuporabna;
• sem že pred leti spremenila naslov svojega stalnega bivališča, vendar davčna uprava strašno zahtevnega postopka vnosa spremembe nekako ne zmore opraviti, tako da se mi je pred kratkim spet zgodilo, da mi je neko ministrstvo, katerega računovodski program (?) je pač vezan na davčne številke, račun poslalo na stari naslov;
• program javne televizije in radia prek interneta že dva tedna lahko spremljam samo v živo, ker se posnetki, kadar arhiv ni sesut, vztrajno zatikajo. (Popravek 1/10/2010: arhiv zdaj deluje bp. Hvala!)

Delala sem v obeh sektorjih in s precejšnjo gotovostjo trdim, da se marsikdo v javnem ne zaveda, kakšen luksuz so med drugim predvidljiv delovni čas, možnost načrtovanja dopusta, gotovost o izplačilu plače in njeni višini. Da, v zasebnem sektorju je mogoče zaslužiti več, ampak ob večjem tveganju in – za resničen preboj – ob večjem vložku energije, časa in sivoceličnega napora. To je podjetništvo. Ki bo državo in z njo tudi javni sektor nekoč potegnilo iz krize, če mu nove davčne uteži ne bodo preprečile, da bi izplaval in pošteno zajel sapo.

Za trenutno stanje in nezadovoljstvo v javnem sektorju seveda je odgovorna vlada. Ne le sedanja, ampak tudi vse prejšnje, ker niso poskrbele za (v celoti) učinkovitejši državni aparat. Za slabo organizacijo dela in za neučinkovito delo podrejenih so odgovorni njihovi šefi. Rešitev verjetno ne tiči v takšnem ali drugačnem uravnavanju višine plač ob ohranitvi obstoječega sistema.

Photos by dr. fil, Jardin du Palais Royal, Paris

Photo by Hirkani: dr. fil not acting very ladylike on Boulevard Saint-Germain . I do get points for not putting my handbag on the floor 😉

Photo by dr. fil: the culprit

(posting this from my Blackberry, but the sales guy was very understanding about its presence in here)

It’s all a matter of perspective.

(Photo taken in front of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris)

Photo: Still Life

This is about as still as I’ve seen life get in Paris in the week I’ve spent here.

I arrived on Sunday and must say that I never noticed before how ill-equipped many metro stations were for anyone but the fully able-bodied. Thankfully, there is no shortage of kind people willing to help drag the luggage up and down the staircases.

Having successfully bothered a couple of tourists with a map in order to find my home for the month and dropped the weights called luggage, the city called for a walk. Hours upon hours of walking and just soaking in the atmosphere, the sights, the sounds.

Photo: Tuileries Garden

What a perfect spot to kick back and read a book. And eventually take a nap.

Daily after-school routine. The Tuilerie Garden is just a block from the school and the weather has been perfect. Sit in one of the chairs set around the fountains and read a book basking in the sun, relaxed by the sound of the water.

A view of the gardens between the Musée du Louvre and Champs-Élysées

After the reading sessions, usually followed by a visit to a museum, I retreat to my current home, a spacious apartment in an impressive building where I rent a room from an 80 y/o lady. Who of course looks more like 68 and loves using her computer to search for information, keep her many social activities organised and to keep in touch with her five children and twenty grandchildren. She studied arts and has kept her interest alive, though she never really worked but did teach catechism. Both of which makes for interesting dinner conversations.

I love the apartment with its sky-high ceilings and tall windows. It certainly is different from what I’m used to. In many cases around here, centuries meet and shake hands. My computer is set on an ancient tiny wooden table with a just slightly less ancient lamp. In the bathroom, an old large radio is mounted on the wall between the water faucet and the mirror cabinet. Looks right, for some reason. The creaking wooden floorboards that announce any visitor long before the knock on the door don’t bother me, but rather remind me of my grandparent’s old house in Vipava Valley. A cosy affair. Oh, and the building does of course have a concierge in the  ground-floor level apartment with an overview of what goes on. So very “The Elegance of the Hedgehog“.

The week has been full. Getting to know my teacher and classmates, taking walks, getting the hang of public transportation, visiting museums and galleries, going to theatre. Ah yes, ok fine, shopping, too.

At the Petit Palais, Reporters sans Frontières feature an exhibition of 100 photos by and Alexandra Boulat. Pure art that makes one take a few deep breaths and ponder over the presented issues.

The newly-opened Monet exhibition at the Grand Palais is breathtakingly beautiful, but watching crowds stand no more than two steps away from the paintings with  audio guides firmly pressed into their cheeks, oblivious to anyone else, makes one wonder what if anything they are taking in with those eyes wide… open?

The show I saw in theatre (Friends in the Closet) is a simple, but nice enough critique of the consumer society and a reflection on the meaning and nature of friendship.

Since the football practice that I’m personally hosting is picking up its pace and the kicks are successfully expanding the playing field, effectively making my belly an arena dome (this is a subtle hint to my two blog readers so you won’t be coming after me later for ‘not having told you’), I’ve switched from running to mainly swimming. Finding a nice swimming pool around here has been a challenge. The one closest to me was so yucky, small and staffed by some obnoxious people, that its only potential upside is the interesting fact that it’s built underneath a hippodrome.

I tried to find another one, but got a bit lost. I kept asking, but nobody seemed to have heard of the recently renovated 50m swimming pool, so I returned home. I did find this, however:

Now I’m sure they teach their students how to stop from drowning in a sense and I would enjoy some of their lectures, but not quite what I was looking for. I also found an enormous supermarket which, just as the 20 other stores I asked at, did not have neither has ever heard of kefir. (If you know where to get kefir in Paris… help!!) And a McDonalds with free WiFi. But no big beautiful swimming pool.

If at first you don’t succeed… prepare better? I did go again and found the thing. The tiny alley was no more than 50 metres from the street at which I kept asking for it. Lesson learnt.

Another beautiful Sunday in Paris awaits. I’m off to the museums and galleries, my book-reading thingy never left at home to gather dust. Meeting up with Hirkani who made it so much easier to wait the two hours for tickets to Monet, as well.

À bientôt

Shopping 😉

(foto: Metro)

Tokrat malo goljufam, ker recepta še nisem preizkusila. Ampak obljuba po tvitu dela dolg Huferki. Trenutno uživam v potapljanju v pariško življenje, kar med drugim pomeni tudi vsakodnevno listanje brezplačnikov v pozi med sopotnike varno zagozdene sardinice na podzemni železnici. Ta recept iz knjižice Julie Schwob sem opazila v Metroju. Polenta je fina reč in v tej obliki je še nisem videla. Mogoče ga bo Huferki uspelo preveriti pred mano in bo o tem fotoporočala.

Sestavine:

• 200 g polente
• 1 neškropljena limona
• 1 pecilni prašek
• 200 g moke
• ščepec soli
• 150 g sladkorja
• 150 g masla sobne temperature
• 3 jajca
• 50 g makovih semen
• sladkor v prahu

Umijte limono in nastrgajte lupinico. Iztisnite sok.

V posodi zmešajte polento, moko, sol, sladkor, pecilni prašek in limonino lupinico. Dodajte maslo, dobro zmešajte in vmešajte dve na hitro stepeni jajci. Na koncu dodajte limonin sok. Testo oblikujte v kepo, zavijte v folijo in za 30 minut postavite v hladilnik.

Segrejte pečico na 200°C. Testo razvaljajte na 1 cm debelo in ga premažite s tretjim hitro stepenim jajcem. Potresite z makom in sladkorjem v prahu. Razrežite in pecite 10 do 15 minut.

Photo: Kindling @ Tuileries, Paris (20 Sept 2010, 24°C; couldn’t resist)

I’ve been meaning to write a post on my latest toy for a couple of months now, but it was so much more fun to read than to type up a comprehensive post. So here’s a compromise. I’ll just jot down a few of my impressions and get back to reading.

Having been sceptical about the whole electronic book affair, I started with a light version, just a Kindle application for my BlackBerry. It was an instant hit that helped me finally read the incomplete Stieg Larsson series and join the crowds that regret his never having had the chance to finish it. But while quite doable, reading on a small BB screen is less than comfortable. It does the of job keeping one calm in queues, however.

Anyhoo, a few months after my birthday I managed to decide what I wanted for a present and my auntie was her usual wonderful self. Enter Kindle.

The first book I read on it was “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” recommended by BigWhale and from then on I just couldn’t stop. Needless to say I never managed to read the manual. The gadget is fool-proof enough. A big plus. What I first discovered (gosh, I so want to type “en utilisant” right now, can you tell we’ve been brushing up on the gérondif) while using it, was that

• The screen is very kind to the eyes and dimly lit, i.e. it requires external illumination in the dark;
• It’s very lightweight;
• Makes it a whole lot easier to meet budget airline luggage weight limits;
• It comes with a dictionary; just place the cursor in front of a word and its definition will show up at the bottom of the screen (useful if reading a masterfully written book such as Hitch-22);
• You can mark text and insert your comments or just underline it;
• The selected text can be shared online with others (eg. via Twitter);
• A book can be bought pretty much anywhere, thanks to the “whispernet”
• Supports various e-book formats.

What I truly appreciated was the fact that there were no distractions. No incoming e-mail, no urge to look up a phrase on the internet and drifting away. Even to check what time it was, I had to bring up the menu screen.

Thinking about the downsides, I’d say:

• Very few books in languages other than English;
• Once read, the books cannot be given away or lent to friends, not even for a fee;
• Doesn’t come with a jacket (and I’ve been too busy or to lazy to provide it with one up until now);
• Mine doesn’t come with WiFi so it’s a bit limited as the basic browser worked in Croatia, but it is blocked in Luxembourg and in France;
• Ease of purchase – I’ve spent more on books than I intended to.

With regard to the first and the last point, I’ve only just (re)discovered the perfect site. First, thanks go to peroksid for opening my eyes to the “non-Amazon” e-books. One thing led to another and I found/remembered Project Gutenberg. It wasn’t all that interesting while I had to read the texts on my computer, but with Kindle, it’s a whole different ball game!

So this morning, I downloaded a number of French books from this wonderful website. I’ll be staying in Paris for a few weeks and reading French seems the right thing to do. I did entertain the thought of typing this post in French, but I need to accept my (current) limitations.