A very warm welcome to my blog! I am Alexander Ivanchev, 28, from Bulgaria. This is the space where I write about where my energy is, share ideas & views. I hope you enjoy your time here!
Today is one of those days that are more than
ordinary. I want to capture and conserve the moment as the memory and emotions
are still vivid and fresh, before the impending and merciless passage of time buries them into
oblivion. Looking back into writings is a wonderful glimpse in the past.
Why Steadfastness? Because of a personal
success of today. It is a colossal personal victory that has an enormous impact
and importance for me. Today is the day I passed the exam to obtain what is called
“legal capacity” in Bulgaria. In most countries, this means that you are a
certified legal professional, with the right to practice. In essence, a lawyer.
How did I get here?
In brief, starting in November 2017, to obtain
it, I had to:
-
translate
all my diplomas and transcripts from my education
-
apply
to a State institution to recognise them
-
appeal
against their decision (twice), as I was initially asked to do 10 exams and
three State exams. State exams are particularly onerous, essentially bringing you
back to year 1, as if you never studied law. I appealed them. Successfully.
-
I
was tasked to only take 7 (eventually 9) quite voluminous exams of Bulgarian
law. I did that in about 1.5-2 months in total. Each exam is linked to further
individual administration and filings.
-
Then
a 6-months “internship” in the Ministry of Justice, with numerous visits to
about 10 different institutions (prosecution, notaries, civil courts, criminal
courts, etc.)
-
And
today, 18.04.2019, the final exam before I could call myself a “lawyer” in the Republic
of Bulgaria.
I remember well how all the above looked back in
November 2017 –inconceivable. So much was ahead. Each individual step above cost
amounts of effort, time, energy and focus hard to explain, certainly not in a
brief blogpost. Those who are more familiar with Bulgaria’s systems
(administration, education), would know enough to grasp the intensity of the “exercise”.
There were moments of despair, humiliations (some of the examiners didn’t miss
the chance to do that), and hundreds of hours of endless studies. Yet, I never stopped
or gave up.
While this is obviously a story directly and
almost unhumbly linked to my personal life, I want to emphasise something
outside my very own prism.
It is the perseverance.
I have lived (yet again) the blunt
truth that, if you have a goal and if you work for it, it shall ultimately
come true. I don’t want it to sound like a cheesy US film of “you can make your
(American? 😊) dream come true!”, or “ you can do
it”. It is more about the silent steadfastness of simply going ahead. Time
flies. If you keep a direction, in small steps taken – the
destination will eventually, and inevitably, be reached.
Today is a day of rejoice for me, of utter satisfaction, deserved and hard-earned.
The rightful ending of the bumpiest possible journey. Objectively, it is simply
a document - I am a lawyer. Subjectively, it is my own victory. Yet another life lesson.
Be consistent, be persistent. Persevere and
carry on in the direction you choose.
2018
was an intense year of my life. I had taken quite a few tasks upon
myself, being busy with various simultaneous undertakings. The major
focus last year was consolidation and stabilisation of existing and
ongoing projects. I believe it was mostly a successful years, with
however some notable lackings
in certain areas.
It
is still not too late for putting down in writing what my yearly
goals for this 2019 will be:
Improvement
of existing assets. I am currently in possession or using a
fair amount of physical assets (e.g. apartment I live, the car I
drive, the olive plantation). Some of them are in deteriorating
state and need addressing. I’d like to:
make
some repair works in the apartment I live
make
the car I drive look more representative and do some long-postponed
repairs.
Improve
the olive plantation: fully utilise the plot I currently own and
plant it full with olive trees. Considering even to buy the
neighbouring plots, if opportunity arises. I also would like to
make a sustainable installation of a water system, as no serious
agriculture could be conducted without a water source.
Make
improvements on the second home we are trying to build for quite
some time
Generally,
this goal is to address the state of the physical objects around me
and ensure that they are maintained and pushed forward, rather than
left to decay under the merciless toll of time.
Having
more time for the unplanned. I
notice that, as live evolves and we grow, we try to have more and
more stuff organised, planned, and set-in-stone well in advance.
There is a lot of value in this. However, I feel I am slowly losing
the balance – I start to have absolutely everything planned months
and almost years in advance. Spontaneousness could be a bliss,
especially if it is matched up with the right people. Start small
first, that’d be a great beginning.
Internet-free
Sundays: My phone – my addiction. Many of us are so used
to stare at the screen without any good reason. I plan to switch off
my internet on the phone more often, and on Sundays – have myself
free of internet. That doesn’t mean I disappear – will be
reachable on my mobile, but no internet will be switched on. I will
try to do it once a week.
Sports:
In 2018 I did well on the sports front. I would like to continue
this tradition onwards – volleyball, football, table tennis, I
want to start a new sport – tennis. Cycling form time to time is
also in my plans.
Piano:
Last year I learned almost 2 entire pieces. This year I’d like to
learn at least one, possibly two. Time is particularly limited, so
I’d rather exceed my goal, than fail.
Saving
money: I’d like to be saving money on the side, or invest
them in certain instruments. I have a sum in my head, see if I
manage to get close to it this time round.
Read:
Reading appears to be quite a challenge, especially with time
constraints. I’d like to read 3 pages per day on average, or
almost a thousand by the end of 2019.
Travel:
Travelling is a great activity of changing environment, but it can
also be draining and distracting. I’d like this year travels to be
more of holidays and relaxation, and not to over-stuff my year with
travels. Challenging, I know. But travelling, for as marvellous as
it is an activity, is a double-edged sword
Thanks
for your the time! Have you thought about your goals? :)
It is that time of the year again that we sit
down and reconsider how we performed (or not 😊) in the past 2018. Verba volant, scripta manent.
So again, I am more than tempted to put thoughts in writing on what went well,
or failed miserably, last year:
·
Consolidation: I believe I largely achieved this goal. I have not
really started any new voluminous projects, I have not commenced challenges and
‘bites’ I cannot ‘chew’. I have plenty on my plate as it is, and I think I did
right in focusing upon ongoing priorities, rather than ‘inventing’ new ones.
·
Start the project “Elate si”(“come back home”). I had a little
idea to start a website encouraging Bulgarians abroad to return home, hoping to
create a better future for our land and people, each one of us with his own little,
but crucial contribution. Well, I miserably failed – it never happened.
It was simply too much. More importantly though, I have also started
reconsidering my attitude towards the entire idea of “encouraging” someone who
has clearly made a choice of life to change mind – is it my task to convince
others? Such decisions come from within, not because someone from outside told
you or pushed you to do so. All I can be is a living example.
·
Sports: My elbow fracture from September 2017 is now all
but fading away, thank
God. I am back into volleyball quite actively, I cycled few thousands of km last
year (including a week-long trip to so-called North Macedonia and Greece), I do
regular table tennis, football, little exercises at home – I keep active and it
is quite addictive.
·
Piano: In 2018, I wanted to learn
three pieces. I learned 1.5, but
one of them was particularly complicated and difficult to learn. I am happy
though. In my busy life, I managed to squeeze some time to learn a beautiful
art, regardless of the fact I theoretically “failed” on my goal.
·
Saving money: Really, I have a lot of work in this regard. I
have had far too many ongoing expenses and costs that have kept me barely
afloat. Significant failure with important lessons I learned.
·
Read: I failed to reach my own goal. Reading requires peace
and silence, which are a particularly scarce commodity in my current lifestyle,
sadly.
·
Travel: I definitely travelled aplenty. Did visit most
destinations I wanted, too.
WRAP-UP
2018 was
the year of consolidation. Of stabilisation – I felt the need to concentrate on
the ongoing matters and not take on more new projects/learnings/endeavours. I had
quite a success in that – most of my ongoing projects and items I am
responsible for are going rather well, they are under control and are
manageable. On the other side though, at times I feel I am on the verge of my capabilities. I leave the year with a focus on trying not to be always everywhere,
and that letting go of certain items can be very relieving and liberating.
Choosing well, optimising time and relaxation – crucial. I also feel I need
more unplanned, un-organised and un-prepared-for time that I can do simple and
non-planned relaxation, leaving space for more spontaneous actions and freedom.
Let’s see what 2019 has in hand for me – I’m sure it’ll fly by and before I
know, I will be writing my “2019 overview” 😊.
Earlier
this year, a fabulous human being, and, luckily, a friend of mine
(Smilyan Pavlov) asked me: “Hey, you that you know a thing or two
about languages… Why don’t you write about it?”
So,
here it is. I’ll try to keep it concise and to-the-point. Even if
it helps only one person, it is worth the effort :) hope you Enjoy!
1)
No shortcuts
We must say this from the very
beginning: there are no shortcuts whatsoever. “Oh, I want to learn
just the basics, just speaking a bit”.. “Oh, what is the best way
to learn language X/Y/Z? I want to do it quickly”. No, there is no
“quicker” way, or other ways to “cheat” the learning.
Language learning is a timely and intensive activity. You can
“cheat”, of course, but your knowledge would likely be unstable,
unsustainable, scattered and, frankly, useless as such. Enter the
language learning process with the clear thought that it cannot be
done “quickly”.
2)
Patience
You will not be able to understand
everything from the beginning. Better come to terms with this
confronting reality sooner than later. Sometimes (very own
experience) you will be faced with wanting to be able to understand
what you hear/read almost immediately. And it would simply make no
sense in your head. Don’t despair – it is only natural. It is a
slippery slope of disappointment to be constantly missing somethings,
thinking: “ah, I will never learn”.. or: “I’m crap, that’s
not for me”. Just let it go. Understanding one word more than the
previous time, is already a progress. You will not just wake up being
“better”. It will come slowly, with its time.
3) Learning a language is akin
to building a house
As in: start
with the foundations first. What do I mean with “foundation”?
Well, think of the very basics of a language. “I am, you are, he
is”, or “I go, you go, she goes”, “I do, you do” etc. In
essence, the present simple tense of the most crucial verbs you need
to express the absolute basics of daily processes. Once you have
that, you move to the next level, perhaps the first floor of the
house: linking words, then perhaps past tense, future tense, etc, so
as to enable the speech/language ‘production’ process (writing).
4)
Writing and producing
Producing a written script of any
language is the most effort-some, thorough and comprehensive work in
any language. To write, i.e. to create a text, to “produce”
written work, it requires the highest concentration, consideration,
thought and depth. Your first writing ever will be crap. The second
one probably too. The third though would likely be slightly better.
And so on. Practice writings, even if the most small and
“non-important” ones. They will eventually add-up and make for a
better writer. It takes time, dedication and steadfastness. No other
way.
5)
Persistence
Just don’t give up. Of course, we
are human and it is tiring, disappointing, could even be annoying.
But those feelings will pass with the time and will be substituted
with, little by little, satisfaction and gratitude to one self. Don’t
rip yourself off the chance to reap the fruits of your dedication!
6)
Do it in a group/lesson setting
I
find being member of groups very useful and functional. Of course, we
all have different levels, but it allows you time to contemplate and
re-hear something you perhaps didn’t know, or learn from your
peers. Plus, having a set dates and times gives discipline.
7)
Make it fun!
In the context of point 6 above, being
in a group also makes it fun, as you can laugh, enjoy and make it a
social event, too, rather than a tedious chore. Learning a language
should be fun, not a torture – try make the best of it! :)
8) Just do it!
Seriously, simply go there and start. If not you - who, if not now - when? Time flies. Set the first step. Before you know it, you’ll be much ahead.
Thanks for your time and I hope it was
useful!
What is your experience with
learning a language? Feel free to share in the panel below :)
2017
was a truly crucial and very determining year in my life. It was turbulent and rich in events, but I can say it was
generally a very successful year with many of my 2017 Yearly goals
achieved, such as coming to live back in my dear homeland, as well as
starting a new fantastic career, through to making a modest start on
my own olive plantation.
As
this very year is now notably progressing, I don’t want to be too
late with the 2018 Yearly goals. That’s why, before it’s half-way
through the year, it is time to sit down and reflect on where you
want to be by the end of the current year. Here are the main goals I would like to
set to myself (I have already started working on these):
Consolidation:
2017 was the year of movement, change and some
groundbreaking events and new beginnings. This year, however, I
would really like to stabilise what I have, focus on the here and now. No major plans ahead. To
mention a few of the newities, I started a humble olive plantation
in Sandanski area, southwest Bulgaria, I started a new job, moved to
a “new” old country, and started learning Greek (a new
language). Plenty to digest. I feel the need to stop “eating” new experiences is very present. It is really time to “digest”.
Start
the project “Elate si”(come
back home). For as contradictory to the previous goal as it may look,
this idea is now for a long time maturing in my head. I have long
been a vivid propagator of it, but now I want to give it an
official form, with its own website and path.
The
project: in the last one generation (~25 years+), my beautiful
homeland of Bulgaria has lost between 25 and 30% of its population,
approx. 1/3 (~9mln in 1990, less than 6mln in 2018). No other crisis
in our written history has seen such a biblical exodus
of its population.
The
better part of these evacuees (yes, it’s a perfectly fitting
word) are in fact craving to return. Most of them are not so
extremely better off, but they have a more stable, albeit not easy
life. Many are surrounded by other Bulgarians, watch Bulgarian TV,
dream of coming back, count the minutes to come back for a holiday…
They are secretly craving to return for good. Who on earth wants to
live far away from where family, friends, and heart lie?
Well, my message will be directed to those: “Come back!”. Our
country is in a dire need of you, just as you need it, too. There is no
other place that you can call home. It’s a cause worth fighting
for.
How
can we reverse these catastrophic, apocalyptic demographic
processes that appear irreversible? By acting on micro-level, with
a macro-awareness in our head in the background. The macro-picture
is indeed, sad and very grim. What we are left with is our own
level of impact, our immediate surroundings. What can we do, what
can we mean for our community? I want to inspire those evacuees
that there is a chance to make a living here. You won’t be a
millionaire immediately, no one promises a red carpet upon landing
and roses every day. However, there is a chance to improve your
immediate surroundings by being the change yourself. Start small.
Change yourself. Your immediate surroundings. This multiplied by
10, 100, 1000, etc. etc, is the most promising and tangible
positive change that our country can hope for. We all have our part
to play in this enormous endeavour. It must start somewhere. With
ourselves.
I
invite you all: come back, Elate si. Together
we can reach unimaginable heights.
Sports:
In the past year I managed to cycle like never before, I did
thousands of kilometres. I also played volleyball. However, my
double elbow fracture impaired my efforts significantly after
September 2017. I have some catching up to do. I could go back into
dancing, or volleyball. Depending on my time, of course. But I want
to keep active. And I will!
Piano:
last year I aimed at learning two new pieces. This year I want to learn three.
Playing piano is an incomparable pleasure and relaxation. I urge all
of those who have some knowledge on an instrument to not leave it
dust. Use it :) it is a fabulous mean of expressing your soul, mood,
and an immeasurable form of meditation.
Saving
money: I have a sum in my mind that I would like to have
saved this year by the end of the year. I hope I can achieve it,
because I have plenty of ongoing expenses. I appear to constantly be
lagging behind. I must be on top of my finances, not behind. It will
be a good test for me.
Read:
Last year I read the most books since my school years. I
would like to keep it up and read at least 10 books by the end of
the year. If I exceed, only so well.
Travel:
Travelling is such a fabulous means of mobility of the body, mind
and soul. But it is also a very slippery slope. One trip.. Just one
more here.. And just a small one there.. At the end of the year you
turn, having spent a lot of time, energy (not to mention funds) on
trips. They are also very distracting. That’s why we ought to choose them wisely. I’d like to do the following trips:
Turkey with a very good friend: Cycling a week through the Turkish coast.
Sozopol, the old city on the Bulgarian coast: this is where I always go for the best relaxation. I have friends there, too, which make it an ever more attractive destination.
Skiing: I would like to go skiing this year, a sport I love practising, but haven’t practised in three years.
Greece: So close to where I live, so full of beauties, and yet I have only been there once in my life. Great excuse to practice my freshly-learned basic Greek. Go there once perhaps.
Thanks for taking the time! And what are your goals? :)
Time definitely flies. Before we know it, another year has slid behind. They literally fly them years, don’t they.
This is why at their end I feel the urge to sit down and reflect for a bit on what my goals have been, how far I have got, and where I would like to be in one year.
Here is a brief overview of my yearly goals for 2017, let’s see how I scored:)
Start my own olive farm: This goal has largely succeeded. In February 2017 I planted the first 45 trees (mostly olives, but also figs and pomegranates). Yes, hardly a “farm”, but definitely a beginning. Hopefully, the winter will be mild and they can have a smooth first 12 months soon. I am particularly happy for achieving this goal, as it had been a long-standing dream of mine. Now the trees are in the ground and they grow as we speak :).
Concentrate my effort in a career: certainly the biggest achievement for the last year was the start of a new fascinating and inspiring job in Bulgaria in September. After numerous interviews and screenings, I got the opportunity to work for a large international company that offers virtually endless horizons and possibilities for a career growth, while working with a fabulous team of young professionals. At the current stage, I feel I am at the right place - there’s nowhere else I’d like to be! A feeling I hadn’t felt for quite some time.
Keep far away from electronic devices: Quite a major failure, unfortunately. My old and scruffy Nokia that I was planning to use more and more got stolen (?!, who steals a 5 EUR phone..), and I even had to purchase a new phone. Could really do with less devices.
Less energy in superficial contacts, focus on deeper connections: quite a success really. This year I spent much quality time with few people that truly care for me, and I truly care for. Those who love you will find you, reach out and be there.
Reading in foreign languages: This year I have read a total of 21 books, mostly literature, but also history and other genres. Of all these 2 are foreign - a Dutch book about the Middle East (Joris Luyendijk - “A good man must hit his wife sometimes”, Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw”) and reading another novel in English (written by a Bulgarian) I just got. In brief, I have not quite reached the goal of 2 pages per day, but am not so far from it. Reading in a foreign language is definitely not as easy as I thought :).
Sport: I have kept up a very good record throughout the year, until I fractured my elbow in September. Since then my sports activities have declined, but I still maintain a decent record. I had to temporarily stop volleyball, but did start on jogging 2-3 times a week, which is very rewarding.
Learn two pieces on the piano: I even learned three. Still, looking back, I’d have liked to learn more, as playing piano is a most pleasurable activity, a fabulous stress releaser and… simply beautiful.
Attention to humans: Succeeded very much in paying attention to humans around me. In fact, it is a double-edged sword - sometimes being too social can lead to too many superficial contacts. Perhaps staying calm and silent is sometimes a bigger virtue than paying too much attention to everyone, that’s the lesson I learned this year.
Be bored: had some beautiful moments of “boredom” throughout the year actually. Many at my favourite place on the coast - old town of Sozopol. Definitely a goal to take to next year, and to my whole life journey in fact. How beautiful is it to be with your own thoughts and self, simply contemplating?
Achievements outside the yearly goals:
Started learning Greek in September, finished the first level (A1) and signed up for the second level (A2).
Started cooking slightly more than before.
Started jogging - a new sport for me.
Managed to, yet again, do a big “dive into the deep” by moving back to Bulgaria this time. It was a turbulent process - “new” old country, with a new job, re-establishing my life, and other challenges related to a change of country, including learning a new language and recovering from a nasty elbow injury.
Conclusion: This year has been most eventful for me, utterly colourful and even intense I’d say. It has cost a lot of energy, but has brought many positives back, too. Shared many beautiful moments with important for me people. I also took some crucial and most significant steps that I had postponed for some time, and that feels particularly rewarding. I let it go with a feeling of content, achievement, and with a thirst for a promising 2018!
How was your year? If you want to share, just drop me a message, I’d be most curious to hear your story!
Last
week (starting from 27.02.2017) I have been having my hands
(literally, too) onto a project that I have been dreaming and talking
about for some time. I also mentioned it in my Yearly goals for 2017,
namely – starting my own (i.a.) olive plantation. Well, the result
is, after a lot of hard work in the last week, there are now 40+ test
plants in the ground in a small village nearby Sandanski, Bulgaria, as per
today. :) Here is an update on how that happened (pictures available
below):
Preparations:
My sister had kindly offered to come along and be part of that new
beginning. We both landed in Sofia around 25th February,
planning to leave the day after. We left Sofia early in the morning
on Sunday, 26.02., with the train to Sandanski, Pirin Macedonia
region. We would stay in the lovely town Melnik where we were to a
hotel called Elli Greco, a fantastic place with the friendliest
staff. We said goodbye to my father in the morning, and he mentioned
he “might pop on Tuesday or Wednesday, just to check the land out”.
OK, we thought, went on the train – gorgeous trip through wonderful
nature – and arrived in Sandanski. There we went for a walk –
cozy little town, worth a visit! Little did we know that we would get
a phone call from my father: “I am in front of the hotel, I
hitch-hiked. I wanted to come for moral support and will go back
tomorrow”. Imagine our surprise :)
Day
1:
– Next
day, early in the morning, we got onto the car/minivan that the hotel
so generously had lent us. Destination – Sandanski, going to a
Notary’s office to sign the deal. The funniest notary ever –
turned out his daughter and I studied the exact same subject at
University of Hull, and she even remembered me. Further, there was
the cutest dog at the office too. Quite an experience – went
relatively smooth and within one hour I became the legal owner of the
piece of land, nearly half hectare (4,150m2).
–
collecting the plants – I had ordered the plants days earlier from
a reputed nursery (www.palmi.bg),
and by that time they were already delivered
at the
courier’s
office in the city of Sandanski.
Around 50 units in total – 25 olives, 8-10 figs, 4-5
Pomme-grenades, 2 bay trees, 2 palm trees (trachycarpus fortunei), 4
oleanders, 2 lavenders and 2 rosemaries. Loaded them in the van and
off we went to see the land!
–
We arrived at around 12h, checked the place, and quickly started to
divide it up – the plan was to test-plant around 45 units around
the plot to see how they react to the soil, slope, climate, etc. We
promptly located the places the tree-holes would be – all in the
different ends of the property – and started digging. Plenty of
work ahead – every tree hole was to be around 80cm/80cm/80cm, or
almost 1m3. Quite some work for three people :)
–
by the end of the light part of the day, we had managed to dig 10
holes in total, and plant 10 olive trees. Good start! But plenty of
work ahead!
Tree
planting methodology: dig a hole. Fill it back with the soil.
Half-way through, fill it with rotted manure. There was plenty
on-site, as it had been used for years by local shepherds and wild
horses. Mix well the manure and soil, give plenty of water, place the
tree, and make a good tree bed. Cover with mulch – also readily
available there, dry hay.
Day
2: We thought – ok, today we finish on time, come on, let’s
work hard! We even thought that we could bring my father to the train
to Sofia – after all, the man had come for some moral support only,
and there he was – already two days working hard :) So, we did do
around 20 holes that day, and planted around 15 trees/plants in
total. We went back to the hotel quite exhausted, but hard work calms
the body and mind so well – had some excellent wine and food, and
we all slept like babies.
Day
3, Wednesday: we thought – OK, today it’s gonna be ready,
all finished, perhaps before lunch! Well, that was also wishful
thinking – after hard work, we did finish all the work by 16h. We
then brought my father to the train station – he had to work the
day after. My sister and I, however, stayed for another night – and
another treat. We went to a fantastic SPA – sauna, mineral jacuzzi,
mineral water swimming pool, steam bath.. A deserved treat! We
finalised our stay with a delicious dinner, matched with excellent
Macedonian wine!
The
weather: As if pre-ordered to perfectly fit our needs! Went
extremely smooth – day one and two were plain sunshine with around
20 degrees, Wednesday was more cloudy, but still not too cold. To
make it perfect, the night of Wednesday rained hard, which would be a
most welcome start for the young plants! :)
The
people: Probably the most crucial aspect. No one can do
anything alone. Could not have done anything without the relentless
and unconditional support of those who helped me out financially, as
well as my sister and father with their hard Egyptian-slave-like
work! On top of all, the hotel of Elli Greco provided me with the van
and some crucial gardening tools (pick-axe, spade), not to mention
the constant assistance and readiness to help.
Conclusion:
I must say it almost appeared as if I am helped by God, universe,
destiny – call it whatever you want, but it all clicked well and
went as smooth as possibly imaginable! Weather, people, logistics…
All worked out simply perfect. And for now this is only a test –
perhaps not even 10% of the trees will succeed in growing. Even if
not a single tree does succeed, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and
have made connections with people that will last, and I bonded
greatly with my father and sister, with whom we worked relentlessly.
It also felt so enriching and inspiring to work for your own project,
with your hands in the ground, literally – hands on. Working for a
purpose – a unique and fulfilling feeling of purpose that I would
be very happy to experience more often!
Wanna
join? This is not only ‘my’ project. I started it, but it is to
share. If you feel like coming, seeing, planting some trees, working
on the land while enjoying the weather and the ‘terrible’
Bulgarian beer/wine, just let me know :) There will likely be plenty
more work!
Sandanski, 26.02.2017, shortly before getting the phone call from my dad :)
With the Notary, with the super-cute dog, 27.02.2017
The plants, delivered in bomb-proof packing (27.02.2017)
The land, immediately to the right of the green wheat field
Egyptian slave No 1 (27.02.2017)
Egyptian slave No 2
Working hard (27.02.2017)
Unpacking the first olives to be planted (27.02.2017)
The first tree to be planted (27.02.2017)
Planting the first tree (27.02.2017)
Best breakfast - mostly home-made! Excellent ‘fuel’ for the hard work (28.02.2017)
Some uninvited guests (01.03.2017)
Final results - lines of olives (01.03.2017)
Bringing my father on the train to Sofia (01.03.2017)
L’ultima cena, The last supper, with excellent local wine. Thank you, Ilina! <3
Inspired
by the pleasant feeling of writing my 2016 Yearly Plan “on paper”
(and the brief overview), I shall now move on to my new, 2017 plan. I
say inspiring, because words fly, and what is written lasts. And it
could be very rewarding to look back and re-evaluate.
Start
my own olive farm
Those
who know me, would have probably noticed that I am rather addicted to
olives, olive oil, and Mediterranean vegetation in general (figs, bay
tree, oleander, etc.). But olives are truly my passion – such a
peaceful and literally gracious tree, appreciated from biblical times
to our times! After many years of talking about it, I have finally
made the move towards taking action – starting my own olive
plantation.
I
am currently in the process of purchasing a piece of land in the
extreme southwest of Bulgaria, in an area called Pirin Macedonia,
known for some of the mildest climates of the country, in the
Sandanski area. With near-2700h of sunshine hours per year, the
region appears to be most suitable for Mediterranean cultures, and
can use it for other purposes. If it succeeds, it will be a first
step towards my own dream of becoming not only a consumer of olive
products, but also a producer. And, in the end, a dream is there to
either act on it, or leave it as a lovely imaginary reality. Well, I
have decided to act! :)
I
must also underline though that the idea is far from being purely
agricultural, or simply about getting money and profit from some
trees. It is a multi-faceted project:
1)
I love Bulgaria, its sunny climate, food, untouched nature, people,
wine.. and the list is long.. It is a unique way to connect to the
place that I sadly do not live in anymore.
2)
Plant-wise: I am up for something that no one has done before. For
Italy and Greece, olives are simply a triviality. For Bulgaria, it is
considered ‘exotic’, and the answer of people would mostly be
“are you crazy” or “it will never work, it’s not gonna grow
here”. This is what makes it unique, and, matched with my endless
love for the olive, is even more so a motivational factor.
concentrate
my effort in a career
Alongside
my olive hobby, I would like to focus my attention
on starting a career and focusing my multidisciplinary background
into an area of interest and specialising. To
make a profile, in other words. It
doesn’t really matter that much what it is – could be an
international institution, a PhD, or a
legal job.
Ultimately, what is important is that I start getting a direction –
I am not getting any younger, and I would like to streamline my
energy into a concentrated effort. It
would also provide for some basic financial safety.
keep
far away from electronic devices
What a horrible addiction those
screens are! One of my yearly goals is to reduce the amount of
screens around me and the distraction of el. Devices. Easily said,
but to execute it, I would need more than just words. I am planning
to revive my 12-year-old (immortal) Nokia phone. Taking the
temptation away is definitely a good start.
less
energy in superficial contacts, focus on deeper connections
I
notice that I have built such a vast network of friends, keeping up
with them in itself would probably take a 3-4 FTE (Full-time
employment, jobs). As sad as it may be, it is not realistic to keep
up a deep, involving and truly valuable connection with absolutely
everyone. It makes one go mad – you wanna answer all your friends
always.
That means a WhatsApp list of dozens of unread chats. I
must focus on my own life, on my own path, develop into what I want
to be, and
then share it with the world. That’s
why one of my
focus
points for this year will be to
concentrate my effort into some deeper connections, instead of trying
to constantly be in touch with everyone, all the time. Now,
if you are my friend (which you probably are if you are reading
this), don’t get offended or shocked – it’s not like I will
ignore you
or forget
you.
We
probably
share a similar challenge here.
Just
checking the amount of WhatsApp contacts or Facebook friends we have
can drive us mad. Now, how would it be to keep a constantly deep and
meaningful relationship with absolutely all of them? Unthinkable.
reading in foreign languages
Last year I surpassed my relatively modest reading goal (5 pages per day). This year has started good – in the last month only, I have read approx. 1000 pages (two extremely involving books). The trap is, however, that I keep reading in my mother tongue. I should read in a foreign language (besides English) more and more. Therefore, I am setting a very modest goal – 2 pages per day. It’s a start. Even one paragraph is better than nothing, right?
Sport
I would like to keep up with my
sporting activities. I currently do volleyball and I cycle approx.
150-200km per week. I am keen on doing other sports too, like
swimming and yoga, or discovering something new – let’s see where
the year will take me.
Learn two pieces on the piano
Another modest goal. Last year I only
leaned one piece for the piano. Better than nothing, but still –
let’s double that this year :) Already learned one by the way!
Playing an instrument can be such a mind-relieving and soothing
exercise, at least for me.
Attention to humans
It isn’t that difficult to just pay attention to the humans around you. What I mean: instead of immediately opening up a phone in the train, perhaps try to stay calm and observe others. Who knows – you might cross looks with them, or a conversation might ensue. In any case, I want to try to be attentive to humans around, sense their mood/energy, be aware of their presence and not see them as a nasty annoyance to my senseless scrolling:)
Be
bored
Very much related to the last one –
just allow myself to be bored and not indulge into distractions.
Simply wait for the bus. Or walk to the train station, without music,
news, Facebook, or other one of the endless list of distractions.
When was the last time I (allowed myself) to be bored? Can’t even
remember.
These are the goals I could gather for
now. Even achieving half of them would be a better result than the
starting point.
Thanks
for your time and I hope it was an enjoyable, and hopefully – an
inspiring read.
The year has
turned, and the time for reflection has
come. Last year, around this time, I made a
list
of yearly goals. Now, a year later,
let’s see how well I fared:
Live here and now: I
would say that this goal is achieved only partly. It remains a
constant challenge for this
year too, and, dare I say,
a lifelong
task.
Eat as healthy as
possible: With small
exceptions, I eat almost
exclusively healthy food. It
makes my body and mind feel excellent, and I am in a rather good
shape.
Rest, relax, meditate.
Only partly. Could work
better on it. World’s
just too hectic! :)
Sport: Succeeded
on a very large scale. I cycled hundreds of km in difficult
terrains, practiced swimming, dancing, volleyball and others.
Read more. Very
proud to say this has succeeded and I even surpassed my goal of 5
pages per day. I read 2 full thick books, and I started a third one.
I also read numerous pages of (physical) quality newspapers (e.g.
Daily Mirror, The Sun..^^,
kidding of course, not these)
Concision:
I kept paying attention. It
has improved.
Speak less (and slow),
listen more. Also did my best
here. Often I remain quiet on purpose, and speak less, resulting
in some colleagues asking: “You are more quiet than the usual
Alex”. I feel this
improved significantly, but it could improve still.
Write neatly:
Mostly successful. Dawn
Piper, a friend of mine, once said, upon seeing my groceries
list: “Your handwriting is so neat!”. Albeit
perhaps too kind a remark, it was encouraging
I kept
focusing on it. Could do better though!
In
conclusion, I am glad to say that a significant part of my yearly
goals have been reached,
albeit some only partly. However,
what we must remember: even if you only achieve half, or a quarter –
does not matter, you tried, and that was the best you could do, and
it was better than nothing!
On
another note, I
have also made some other achievements, outside the set goals – I
learned a new piece on the piano, I learned how to dance Horo dances
(traditional Bulgarian dance), which was
particularly handy during my
brother’s spectacular wedding last September. Notably, after
years of postponing, I
obtained my driving
licence from the first attempt, in a short period (two weeks), with
100% rate on my theory exam.
The
above gives me
good feeling to go into my next year’s goals, which I
will soon lay out on my
blog. Stay tuned :)
We
humans tend to compare ourselves a lot to each other. “Ah, I am so
behind, look at [fill in the blank], who is already ahead, and I’m
lagging behind.” Or: “Ah, my friends / family/[whoever] is
“already earning so much’ or ‘married and with children”, or
“doing so well”, etc. etc. etc.
Sounds
familiar?
Comparing
is natural. From an early age, we are surrounded by peers who also
have to ‘perform and achieve’. Think school grades. Think
diplomas. Then jobs, salaries, etc. Other examples and comparisons
are omnipresent. Notably, social media feeds of ‘great new job’
or ‘look at this holiday here’ or ‘feeling fabulous’, provide
comparison ‘hazards’ aplenty.
Comparison
has a good side – looking at others can motivate, it can inspire
us, give ideas, and enlighten. Sadly, however, we more often tend to
feel bad about ourselves, that we are losers compared to our peers,
who are ‘so much better’, and that we won’t get anywhere.
What
we probably don’t realise is that the other [fill in the blanks of
that ‘extraterrestrially’ good person] is most likely involved in
exactly the same exercise. Better still, it might well be he is
comparing himself to you, may be even on that exact same topic/skill
you are comparing to him. Let me tell you three reasons why such
comparisons are pointless and harmful.
Firstly,
we all have our individual story and background, leading us to
the right place, at the right time, here and now. That is, with our
knowledge and life experience as it was, we made certain decisions we
believed were right at the time of making, and therefore, we are at
the right place here and now. You could not have been anywhere else.
I am not suggesting to sit still and never work for the betterment of
oneself. Rather, realise that where we sit right now is OK, and we
can always change it, without destructive self-critique.
The
second fallacy of the ‘better others’ is that it
assumes that whatever we do, is not good enough; there is that
someone no one has seen, but he is the ‘better’ one, THE example.
“Who
knows what a clumsy piece I have produced” (e.g. an assignment for
school), surely, that’s not how it’s done. The knowledgeable
‘other’ will surely outdo it, and I am definitely a loser.”
This
line of thought operates on the premise that somewhere out there,
there are those amazing, unique, the ‘extraterrestrially’ good
people who do it ‘the right way’. But there aren’t – they are
only humans, like all of us, among us, and likely are confronted with
exactly the same fear.
The
third drawback, and this is the most significant one in my
view, is the self-diminishing, that escalates in a self-destruction.
Repeating to our inner selves that we are simply not good enough,
because someone else is better, and I’ll never reach him, is
inherently unproductive and destructive. It automatically puts
whatever we DID already achieve into a rubbish bin with a label: not
good enough. Is this how personal achievements ought to be treated,
even if they are ‘little’?
To
summarise
Comparison
is natural, and has its many positive sides, such as inspiration,
‘peer pressure’ for improving ourselves, and others. Mostly,
however, it is exercised in a negative manner and works destructively
on our souls, bodies, and self-esteem. But I have explained why most
of the premises upon which negative comparisons rest are flawed and
destructive.
Wanna
think twice before you do it next time?
Thank
you for your time, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Please feel free
to leave a comment below – I am curious to know your thoughts.
