FAREWELL LETTER

Farewell letter

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Major Latin-American author of novels and short stories, a central figure in the so-called magical realism movement in Latin American literature.

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1982) for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts.

Worked as a foreign correspondent in Caracas, Rome, Geneva, Poland, Hungary, Paris, Barcelona, Mexico, India and New York City. His most successful novels include "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (1967), "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" (1981) and "Love in the Time of Cholera" (1985), which was made into the movie Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

After learning that he suffered from lymphatic cancer in 1999, he wrote his autobiography "Vivir para contarla" ("Living to Tell the Tale", 2002).

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If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a
little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.

I wouldn't possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would
be more thoughtful of all I say.

I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for
what they mean to express.

I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for
every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light.

I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a
simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not
only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.

To all men I would say how mistaken they are when they think that
they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that
they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how
to fly by themselves.

To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but

with forgetfulness.

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody
wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true
happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach
the top of the hill.

I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand,
his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.

I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down
at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the
ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is
the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you
with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the
guardian angel of your soul.

If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say

 "I love you".

There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do
things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to
me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never
forget you.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be
the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait;
do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be
sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss,
and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.

Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their
faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them
well; take your time to tell them "I am sorry";" forgive me"," please"
"thank you", and all those loving words you know.

Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and
strength to express them.

Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you.


For you, With much love,
Your Friend,
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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THE TEATRO ALLA SCALA

The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera houses.

A fire destroyed the previous theatre, the ancient  Teatro Regio Ducal

 on 25 February 1776, after a carnival gala.

A second plan was accepted in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa. The new theatre was built on the former location of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, from which the theatre gets its name. The church was deconsecrated and demolished, and over a period of two years the theatre was completed by Pietro Marliani, Pietro Nosetti and Antonio and Giuseppe Fe. This theatre had a total over 3,000 seats organized into 678 pit-stalls, arranged in six tiers of boxes above which is the 'loggione' or two galleries. Now the stage is one of the largest in Italy

La Scala was originally illuminated with eighty-four oil lamps mounted on the palcoscenico and another thousand in the rest of theater. To prevent the risks of fire, several rooms were filled with hundreds of water buckets. In time, oil lamps were replaced by gas lamps, these in turn were replaced by electric lights in 1883.

The original structure was renovated in 1907, when it was given its current layout with 2,800 seats. In 1943, during WWII, La Scala was severely damaged by bombing. It was rebuilt and reopened on 11 May 1946

In the near future I have to travel to Milan due to business trip and I'll try to visit opera performance  in La Scala.



It that time they will play opera ALCINA by Georg Friedrich Händel  


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SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

 

HOW TO REACH A GOAL?

Eighteen year old Jamal Malik is having an amazing answering streak on the Indian version of the television game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He's only one correct question away from the big prize. However, some, including those associated with the game show, question how someone like Jamal, a self confessed non-genius who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, can be doing so well on the show when others who are brighter, more educated and wealthier than him have failed. Is Jamal cheating? Is it purely luck that they have asked him the questions to which he knows the answers?

Slumdog millionaire didn't show the BAD or NEGATIVE India. It showed a REAL PART of India.

Yes, India has many beautiful and clean places that should be seen like religious mountains and temples or tourist attractions.

It is a movie which was nominated for ten 2008 Academy awards

and won eight... 

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- TREVI FOUNTAIN -

You will not found any other place in the world that celebrates the ever mutating and incredible power of water like Rome. The Trevi Fountain is a fantastic work of art that is much more than a mere sculpture. This triumphant example of Baroque art with its soft, natural lines and fantasy creatures embodies movement as the soul of the world. The fountain is a true wonder, a jewel of water and stone that is nestled between the palaces of the historic center of city

This work of art is so famous that even cinema has commemorated it on more than one occasion. Everyone remembers the scene in the renowned Italian film  "La Dolce Vita"  by Fellini. On a quiet night in an almost unreal Rome, an alluring Anita Ekberg jumps into the Trevi Fountain with her clothes...

A 31-year old man was recently fined for swimming in the Trevi Fountain . If he was attempting a reproduction of Anita Ekberg  in the famous scene, he probably missed the mark.

The man entered the water, before enacting a swimming race and then dived into the larger pool at the foot of the fountain.

A few years ago, entering the water got you a 15.000 lire fine which equates to about 300 euros today.

BE MY VALENTINE

 

Is it really love?

or is it just a passing feeling
am I not convinced?
a bit uncertain of the feeling

Is it the way you make me feel?
so warm with joy and laughter
or could it be the happiness
from moments spent together

The lasting bliss, the kiss I miss,
The sweetest thoughts without a touch
The heart that hurts and bears a scar
thinking how far away you are

You're on my mind most of the day
And at night I go to bed and pray
An angel soft and gentle as you
Would make my sweetest dreams come true

Thinking about you alone or in mass
Writing your name on my bathroom window glass
Wishing you were here
To love hold and care
Wishing I had you with me
To cherish and to stare

Into your soft and beautiful eyes
As we both travel to the skies
And mingle with the stars above

But is it really love?

TAKE A BREAK

TAKE A BREAK

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MY DEAR FRIENDS, AS YOU KNOW MY HARD SEASON IN MY OFFICE JUST STARTED....

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I NEED A BREAK AND IT’LL BE FOR A FEW MONTHS ...

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THERE MAY BE A LONG DELAY WITH THE CONNECTION ON MY BLOG...

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I HOPE TO FIND ALL OF MY DEAR FRIENDS HERE ...

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THANKS FOR EVERYTHING...

Can we Really be Lucky?

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Can we Really be Lucky?

Luck means occurring by chance. It implies that

Luck just happens by chance, and

It cannot be planned or obtained by intention.

You cannot influence the result of a lottery, or a roll of dice, for example. So you cannot win by wishing or hoping.
Yet, apart from this you can be lucky. Here's how...

1. Know what you want

If you don't know what you want, how will you know when you find it?

As a student, I was amazed that when I had learned a new word, I seemed to see it and hear it everywhere. It was as if after learning it, the world presented it to me on every occasion! Of course, the word did not occur more frequently - my awareness of it was greater! I heard it when previously, I had ignored it. Similarly, opportunities may surround us, but do not observe them? Opportunities of all kinds surround us, and we recognise them when we have good fortune in mind.

2. Let everyone know what you want

If you let others know what you want, they can pass on to you useful information and tips, but when unaware of what you want, they obviously can't help you.

3. If at first you don't succeed, then try, try and try again, and then give up and do something else

We do not know which of the several or many things we try will work. Eighty per cent, at least of what we try will not bring the dramatic results we want. Of the remaining 20 per cent, only 4 per cent will be of much use. Successful people try many things. Try, try, try again, but then do something else! If a tiger wants your dinner, let it have it! You can always come back with your gun.

4. Be a lifelong learner

I have often heard people talk about their dream, perhaps a new business. Yet many choose something they know nothing about. They do not prepare themselves by learning all they can, before they make the jump!
Those who succeed become experts in their area of interest. They read, study, listen and ask questions, and gain experience.

5. Trust your intuition

Respect your hunches and 'feelings.' This does not mean you blindly gamble on a hunch, it means that you give consideration to what appears, at first, to be irrational 'feelings' which may be clues from the unconscious mind which your conscious has missed. Respect your hunches and check them out! Remember may famous scientific discovers derived from sudden hunches or insights. But the scientist then had to prove them.
Also, intuitions might come to you gently and quietly. By listening to them and being aware of them you can open up the opportunities in your life.

6. Believe you will succeed

Many really great achievements did not come overnight. They were often proceeded by many false starts, and difficulties. Maintain your faith that you will soon succeed in small things and in time in great ones. Never give up on your dreams... You will succeed sooner than you thought...

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"In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand.Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open,except yourself."

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