Blog
- December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas?
Most of us 99-percenters couldn’t even let our dogs leave a dump on the sidewalk without feeling ashamed before our neighbors. It’s called having a conscience: even though there are plenty of things most of us could get away with doing, we just don’t do them, because, well, we live here. Most of us wouldn’t […]
- September 1, 2011
Roots
Note: This piece was originally published in CERN Student Club’s “Creative Voices” in 2010. The website is now under major revamp, so I am republishing it here. Running along the fringes of existence I wander the two spaces of my lifelong presence One that bred me and one that breeds From where I came and […]
- August 31, 2011
Motherland
You are messy. You have bad habits and bad manners. You bite the hands that feed you and make questionable decisions. You act like a buffoon sometimes and sulk if nobody is laughing. You are impulsive, immature and insensitive. Despite all your flaws, kinks and imperfections, I just can’t seem to get you out of […]
- February 17, 2011
Roaming Rome
I’ve always found Italy enchanting. Rome was no exception. It is a city built around history, literally and metaphorically. The colosseum is built right smack in the middle of a busy street. There are no barricades, no mountains, no ocean nor 354 security checks separating this magnificent piece of art from its people. Art. Everything […]
- February 3, 2011
Higgs and Kitten
Note: This piece was originally published in the CERN Student Club’s “Creative Voices” in 2009. The website is now under major revamp, so I am republishing it here. One year ago before I came to CERN I had no idea what the Higgs boson was, I thought a wormhole is where birds are sent to […]
- February 2, 2011
Aliens and Predators
Note: This piece was originally published in the CERN Student Club’s “Creative Voices” in 2009. The website is now under major revamp, so I am republishing it here. When she was ten Janine was asked to write a story based on four pictures in her mandarin writing class. The first picture showed several workers working […]
- February 9, 2010
Ankara
There are two kinds of cities in the world – one that takes your breath away the minute you set foot on it, and one that cloaks its charm behind a facade of blandness which, if you are careless, is easy to dismiss. Ankara was the latter. I didn’t have much expectation before I went […]
- January 24, 2010
Puddle
. . . imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, ‘This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!’ This is such a powerful […]
- August 6, 2009
Dutchness
Eindhoven is a place of omnipresent contradictions. There is a kind of spirited slowness in the air. I’m sitting in the bar with the windows open and the sound of people streaming in. It’s a warm humid summer evening and there is jazz music on the streets. I cast my eyes across the room and met […]
- March 28, 2009
Kurt Vonnegut
[When Vonnegut tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope] Oh, she says, well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because […]
- March 28, 2009
Prague
Five days conference in Prague. Second time visit to the city and its still beautiful. The weather wasn’t kind though. And being surrounded by a buncha tech-crazed genius can sometimes be overwhelming. But the 1 euro Czech beer more than make up for it. Almost got conned by an attractive waitress. Prague is mesmerizing during […]
- December 30, 2008
Dresden
Dresden 3 days trip. I must admit, I didn’t have much impression about this city except that it is one of the most famous Eastern German city. I ended up liking the city more than I expected. It’s lively, both modern and modest and still maintains a tinge of the Eastern German charm. Quaint coffee […]