Dorm deco

Like many, I too have, upon finding out I'm accepted to my selected university, been most excited about personalising my dorm. In light of having at least someone/something remotely alive in the room, I invested in 6 tiny cactuses from Ikea (y'now, the tumblr ones), which I definitely named: Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Gianteo, Gianluigi and Gianpiero. Somewhere along the line I realised I don't like the smell of my dorm, thus a candle has found its place among the cacti. As I am a bookworm, I couldn't refrain myself from bringing a couple of books. My favorite is The Little Book of Hygge, which I turn to whenever I want to bring hygge into my dorm, or just want to reminisce on my week in Scandinavia. There were some dents in the wall, which I took the libery of covering with a lovely composition of postcards and artcards from my travels, film negatives, and polaroids. December came, and that section of the wall got a pleasant addition: the Advent calendar. The ultimate Advent calendar, really, it was Lindt. I taped it to the wall, and on a lovely December morning, as I was sleepily seeking my will to live in a large cup of coffee, it fell on my head, rattling me to my very core. I went to uni sans my will to live. My sister got me a branch to imitate a Christmas tree and made some decorations, so my dorm was more festive than I ever got to be. I also put up a large picture of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland (love me some Iceland), and a drawing I had to do for uni that happened to turn out nice. Now there's a calendar taped to the wall, I hope that one doesn't come after me. (Edit: It did come after me. I should invest in better tape.)

Ljubljana

I'd been warned before moving, that the city I like very much will soon become boring and annoying. That turned out to be true in terms of people, as I am having trouble listening to the wide selection of different accents the fellow students use. What's nice about life here, is that I go through the city centre every day, and thus get to capture all the beautiful buildings in lovely lighting. This especially paid off on the day we got snowfall, as I had the chance to stroll around the parks and alleys and photograph Ljubljana in its winter wonderland glory. I recognise the potential of the abundance of lovely cafés scattered all around the city, and my professors are constantly telling us about various exhibitions in all sorts of galleries, however, due to the lack of company and time, I haven't gotten around to see any of them yet. The other day I walked up to Ljubljana castle to see an old renovation done by Plečnik, and it was on that Wednesday morning I realised how very out of shape I've become, for the max. 15 minute walk had me panting like a walrus fresh out of water (not completely confident in the accuracy of the description but ok).

Travel

Obviously I hadn't gotten around to wandering about the world yet, but I do have some good plans for the future. My seminar has organised a week long trip to Southern Spain in March, so expect a lengthy post about that. This year, Venice is hosting the Architectural biennale, and you don't have to guess twice whether I'll be there.

Living alone has gotten me well in touch with myself, my mentality, my patience, my working habits, and my organisation skills. I've noticed that I'm fairly tidy, but can't possibly summon the time to sweep. Cooking is very nice, though it would be even nicer if I weren't on a clock to return to uni. I'm excited about this student meal program thing I'm applied for, where a handful of restaurants all over the country offer free or reduced meals to all students. Many take advantage of this and are very happy with it, however I hadn't yet found time to do it. It is highly likely I'll get to do it in the second semester, as we have seminar work that keeps us at uni all day. I do get a bit lonely sometimes, but as I am a deep introvert, that doesn't last long.

That's about all I have to say about my life in Ljubljana so far, I will to another check in at the end of the second semester. Until then, I desperately hope I can get myself to publish more. I already have one post written and two in the beginning stages of bullet points, but god knows when I'll get to edit them, add photos etc.

To be honest, this post was written over the course of three weeks, so there should probably more content here, had I not taken so many breaks between writing.

It has undoubtedly been a while. This year marks the end of my high school education and the step further into university. Understandably, between studying for my final exams and practicing for my acceptance exams, there was hardly any free time left. And whatever time I had had to myself I diligently spent reading or catching up with my tv series (as one does). With July 10th all my schoolwork was officially done, and I am now left to my own devices, waiting to see what my future is going to be starting October 1st. Either way, having 3 whole months on my hands is more than enough time to get back on track with my idea of blogging.

Plans for summer

I'm sure that there is not a single soul who hasn't heard of James Bond, and seen at least one of the franchise's films. The character whose fame keeps growing with every film released is now already a sort of icon, and anyone who knows me for more than 2 months knows that I have a mild obsession with him. It all began a couple years ago, when I was sick and layng on the couch, watching tv with my dad when James Bond came on. Because he is very familiar with the story and creation of these films, he began sharing his knowledge with me. It was on that day that I realised how good James Bond really is, and thus decided to give a chance to all the films: not just the newer ones. Throughout the years I've managed to see a large majority of the films and got to know the story and history of the notorious character.

James Bond - 007 was first introduced to the world in the form of a book in 1953, written by Ian Fleming. Because the character was found very interesting, it had been decided that he will be to appear on the movie screen. In 1962, on the premiere of James Bond: Dr. No a legend was born, as Sean Connery in James Bond's shoes - or should I say tux - accomplished his first mission.

What I like most about the James Bond film franchise is the wide variety of foreign and estranged places, and the ever so witty british humour that never ceases to make even the dullest and most depressing of situations fun and easy-going. Every James Bond film is filled with various elements that both represent the time the film was filmed in, and present the luxury and wealthiness of certain characters, organisations, countries. Whether one watches a certain Bond film because of preference or in search of relaxation, the films are fit for a majority of types of people, as the directors constantly strive to reach and acquire the perfect combination of action, drama, comedy, and romance, always managing to satisfy the audience.

Of course I can't speak about James Bond without mentioning the women, cars and gadgets. Each and every girl in the film, be it a Bond girl or a villain, is pretty much the most beautiful existent creature in it. There is never a middle measure; a Bond girl is either the clumsiest, or the most professional lady there is, which contributes greatly to the film.

As James Bond is known as the best and most elegant spy, it would be fair, to say the least, that he drives the best and most elegant cars. Cue the Aston Martin DB-5 - the most famous Bond car in the world. Incidentally, in the very beginning Aston Martin didn't want to take part in the franchise, but thankfully they later on changed their mind.

When it comes to gadgets, the first thing that comes to mind is the admiration towards those, who come up with items as such. The imagination that busied their minds must have been infinite, because even though a certain gadget gets a maximum of 2 minutes screen time, looking from a wider point of view that includes all the James Bond films along with all the gadgets presented in them, James Bond would not be his true self if it weren't for all the gadgets and the childlike curiosity that overtook him whenever he was given one.

Ever since 1962, James Bond has slowly grown into an icon, leaving his footprint all over the world, increasing women's standards and influencing people's subjective view on the british culture and behaviour.

Those who haven't yet seen a film, or don't remember the one film you saw, please sit down on a lazy evening and give it a try. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

What is your opinion on James Bond? Don't hesitate to share!

x, Valens