I'm going overseas, come fly with me, I'll give you everything

Theophilus London's Flying Overseas got into my life exactly at the moment I have flown away from home.

I am full of new ideas, new people around, new cultures and languages.

I love London so much, but that is nothing compared to that strange feeling that floats on the bottom of my heart to St.Pet.

Wisdom said hundreds of years ago 'you do not appreciate until you lose' spins in my mind every single minute.

My body starts to shiver when I get the awkward feeling that there is your hand on my back. Every inch of my body remembers all that happened to us. But what I have now is that I have to appreciate now.

Studying in London, dreaming in London, missing all in London.

And I'm 21 sitting here in the heart of the city, nearby Bayswater, grieving a bit, but feeling I'm growing up. Each second I get that something special that you sometime need years to realize.

Shopping is addiction. But why not to get rid of it? Why not to try museums and walking instead of five hours in a raw trying on new clothes?

Smoking is more than addiction. But why not to be strong? Why does my confidence has to depend on the smoking stick held between my lips? Why not to stop losing my breathe while running because of this smoked wasted money and health?

'Girl, you'll be a woman soon' is too late to whistle, but being a woman is not just pumps and mascara with lips sparkling red. Being a woman is being trully smart and perfect. In everything.

Run Run Run, don't stop till you get enough!

When you travel a lot, you always have particular associations connected with each and every city.

For me London is not Double Deckers and Mini Cabs crossing streets with their wheels.

First of all it is adorable deers from Richmond Park, which are by no means the most awesome creatures in the whole world, and secondly - running.

People of all nations, races, skin colours, ages and occupations do running for running. And that has always amazed me in a positive way.

What I have done today is kicked myself off the apartments and joined this perfect "backroom" union of runners.

It was extremely right noticed by somebody that who doesn't want to do search for excuses, but those who want to do are looking for means.

So it doesn't really matter how long was I googling gyms in the areas and checked dozens of pages, what for, when gorgeous Hyde Park is just two minutes walk and 45 secs run?

A greedily inhaled air which tickled my lungs from inside and cloud of steam aroung my head - it was 10 C though this morning. And that's exactly what I needed so much. Just run, just nature, just music plugged into my ears and soul.

And again I knew it would be better every next day, my condition. I finally have done all home stuff and my place is something cosy since today. With lots of violet colours. Surprisingly and accidentally.

Londony London

When thinking about leaving my dearest St.Pet. I could never image it would be so hard.

What is to blame? Nothing. That is alright, I guess, when you are 21 and full of emotions.

Plus love, plus friends, plus nearest people, plus my whole life left in my hometown.

But what is the reason to suffer to much? I have made up my mind and make myself now enjoying every single minute in the mysterious beautiful city.

The year of MA will pass in one go. And I will be in St.Pet. for Xmas and NY.

Wind is blowing warmer than it was, changes are neccessary for everyone from time to time.

And Hyde Park is so nearby to run and think.

And what I did is bought tiny funny rabbit to sleep with.

Huh, 21, you see?

Cream in a glass bottle.

It once all began from the hempy cream with which he smelled, his hands, clothes, thoughts and cigars. I adored to sit in the pitch darkness and look at his arms with tenderness, at the process that he loved more than me - he rubbed his hands measured with that cream, carefully covering each and every crack and wound. When mornings his hands were incredibly gentle and soft like it was velvet. But with the approach of nights they became harder than sandpaper, which left only scars and abrasions on my face and soul.

I once got so tired of that silence between us and that pain in my heart so I ran away from his home, breaking that small bottle made of Murano glass which carried that hapless cream. Leaving I felt all those unspoken words, stories and confessions in the air, which where told by us so many times in our heads but never with our tongues during three long years. Three years of moral limbo and sun stripes on the black floor.

And now it is me telling you this ridiculous story and doing one ritual every evening - I sit and gently rub my weather-beaten hands feeling some special smell in this room. The smell that previously stupefied his deceitful mind - the smell of hempy cream.

Journalism articles example. Vol.2.

Extraordinary architecture of Norway

Scandinavia is a unique corner of the Earth where every person would like to go. The most catching of Nordic countries is Norway. It is a marvelous country, which attracts people with everything - beginning from the nature with picturesque fjords and ending with unusual underground stations that look like halls of international railway stations and airports.

The exhibition «Modern Norwegian architecture 2000-2005» was available for visitors in the Central Museum of Communications named after A.S. Popov and impressed people at first sight. It was surprising that the architecture of Norway was presented only with bright stands with photographs and comments, some of the most interesting models of buildings and videos.

It seems that going round the exhibition, reading stories and explanations to all exhibits, trying to find a free chair to watch a video is all that you can do there. But the very special atmosphere that was created by the decoration doesn't let the visitors to leave that way.

Once you see a picture of a building which is a bright example of a modern architecture of Norway you immediately want to see it live, bypass all corners of a house and stay there forever. It is likely that Norwegian architects are so successful in creating buildings which would look harmoniously on the Red Square despite its queerness because they follow principles. The basis of their conception is contrast and closeness, form and functionality. Norse believe that a new building can get along with a monument of the 19^th century architecture perfectly. The fact is that architects work with ambient things and environment. They try their best in making their creation a part of the whole. “Contrast and closeness” mean that a new building will attract people's attention but at the same time will be a unified ensemble with the environment. It's all about playing with something old and new. Speaking about “Forms and functionality” Scandinavians architects showed a huge difference between Modernism and modern architecture. This is exactly the case when a term “modern architecture” isn't a wide notion of modernist architecture. In frames of Modernism a form is defined by a function, but according to modern Norway a form is defined by an emotion. And that explains the beauty of their buildings.

There is something remarkable about this exhibition. On the one hand all modern architecture which is presented there is the organic whole, phenomenon of time and ideology, and on the other hand each house is a personality. The exposition shows visitors various incarnated projects from a house in a park to the building of Parliament, which doesn't look likely to other European institutions of democracy. What a wonder that architects created even a church that thanks to its functionality, bright colours and plenty of a free space looks like a Swedish store IKEA. Schools and universities apparently seem to be a favorite topic of creation of the Norwegians. Looking through picture of school building that attract with its light, tranquility and positive vibrations it's easy to say that a progress and attendance of Norwegian students is higher than Russian students, for instance. You may also find projects ordinary urban houses and country villas that were created to be a place of a comfortable accommodation.

This exposition is just an easy way to get acquainted externally with the modern architecture of Norway. But to my mind it is hard to leave it being indifferent after seeing such almost genius and astonishing buildings.

Journalism articles example. Vol.1.

Do you enjoy snowy winters?

When thinking about a snow usually only lovely thoughts come to mind, such as snowballs, snowman, fluffy snowdrifts and white flakes which fall down so handsomely. That happens usually, but not this winter. Snowfalls turned to be a real nightmare, display of a dashing temper of the nature and weather. It is March already, but an epopee with snow continues. Significant part of the city is still covered with snow logjams that will be a huge eyesore for the citizens. But that is not the worst.

Speaking about the harm of a snow and ice to the architecture of the city it is absolutely clear that damage is obvious. Primarily excessive amount of precipitation is an enormous weight which presses on the rooftops. Roofs often aren't able to stand such heaviness (especially those that haven't been repaired for a long time). Broken through housetops, damages on facades, injuries of building's exterior are just few problems that houses faced this year. Plenty of snow caused the demolition of the fence of the Obvodny canal on the 2nd of March for instance.

Open balconies awe people because they are filled with a waist-high snow. Fortunately there were no incidents of caving of them, but this kind of danger waylay us everywhere.

The historical centre perhaps suffers more than other parts of the city. Tight and ornate streets and courtyard's entrances don't facilitate the solution of this situation. When walking down the beautiful streets, which weave the pattern from Nevsky prospect to all sides of the city, it is so easy to understand that their beauty and diminutiveness are the main interference. On such roads of the city it is so hard to take down snow from roofs, because it is necessary to overlap the street and that means that it will be blocked both for pedestrians and cars. That is the reason why looking above you can easily see icicles that already transformed into stalactites and «hug» convex elements of facades.

It's essential to look at the city from a bird's-eye to see that snowdrifts covered playgrounds, green corners and all possible passages in yards. It is so difficult to clean small yards from the snow because of their specific forms and tiny sizes. And there is no one you can blame it on, except architects of the 18th and 19th century, who could unlikely guess what torments next generations will have to endure during such cruel winters. Also owners of cars who left their vehicles on the streets, so that you can hardly define where is the snowdrift and where is the car covered with snow, made a huge “surprise” for housing services.

And if you were lucky to see the city from some high point like St. Isaaks Cathedral, than stick to something with your hands because you can feel bad from the panorama of the snowbound city. At first sight you may find it lovely, fluffy and beautiful, but only one thought about St. Petersburg turning into something wet and slushy in the late spring with the first sounds of eavesdrop can make you dizzy. And that is the next problematic issue of this winter. Both pedestrians and car drivers need to acquire canoe or gondola.

This difficult period will bring not only visible problems, but also troubles to monuments and sculptures of our city. Although it was said dozens times that monuments won't suffer from snow and ice and from polluted atmosphere, it seems that they will. You can easily notice a lot of monuments around the city which are not protected at all and are covered with snow hats. Specialists say that toxic substances from air concentrate in water, snow and ice, and that is why it is a real threat to the beauty of St. Petersburg. It would be great, if the government would pay attention to the experience of European colleagues. They “pack” extra sensitive sculpture and monuments in transparent boxes which do not prevent tourists from enjoying them. And that is more useful and aesthetically than what is done in the Summer Garden, where unique sculptures are packed in vertical “coffins”.

But the only one thing left now is not to be lazy to look above at the roofs of houses, not to miss a dangerous icicle. For spring rubber boots will be extremely demanded and urgent. So you better start looking for them right now because we will have quite a complicated spring.

And to be honest, I feel very sorry about the fact that we can't travel by air or teleport.

Gramophone shop of sacred secrets

It was the owner of the old-old shop with gramophones who knew that the work of all his life has turned to be very unprofitable. But in addition he was well aware of that cabinet doors of his shop stores somebody's secrets, mysteries and whispers. Each night, during the darkest hour which is followed by the dawn, when even lonely silhouettes walking with non sober step, dissapeared from the reflections of his windows, he looked at all those treasure from his cupboards, blowing off dust particles.

Each morning after a short nap he sliped on the mask of hypocrisy to his face and opened the gramophone shop. There were dozens of people who, by sundry reasons were there, had no idea that when buying gramophones that were, nay, not even selling, but just losing forever hidden corners of their souls.

With eyes gently made up I am gazing into the air above these rusty roofs and realise that because of fatigue I do not feel my own smile anymore. I can bite off my tongue and would not feel even a little of pain. Several hours surrounded by music spent in deep-deep thoughts. I will have a cup of naturally strong and almost frozen coffee and will have to start. A new day in the shop of gramophones, no, not them, but store of another's secrets and dreams.

Ich liebe dich, Papa.

Braised cigarette held between the lips goes round the corner and back.

My face is bundled up in my own bush of hair, which are extremely unruly. I desire heartly to look as deep as possible inside someone's eyes and with the head held straight and proudly to quite this tricky game happened in my brain. Simultaneously I have to confess that delicious French Beaujolais of 2008 harvest year slightly infatuated as well as burned the blood in veins of mine. That reminded me of you and I dancing nearby the Eiffel Tower, dancing that non-existant dance for the first and last time in our lives.

It was me in the very heart of Europe, smashing already broken glass of memories with high-high heels. And that was the time I realised that the only person who's opinion I care about and who's pride I need as the air, as the blood circulating in the body, as the pulse felt in blistering temples, is my dear father. My best in the whole world dady, who still holds my hand while crossing the street as if I were five.