April wrap up

Book

Mitosis (1.5 in Reckoners series) by Brandon Sanderson - I loved this novella but it was way to short for my liking. Anyway, fight of humans against Epics started with Steelheart (1.0 in Reckoners series). This time David and Reckoners are fighting Mitosis, and eating Chicago hot-dogs. As in previous book there was action and good sense of humor. However, this book is just a teaser of what is going to happen in Firefight (2.0 in Reckoners series). 

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion- very good and funny book. I would start first from Rosie Project which is very funny comedy about very calculated, organized and not emotionally driven guy that has to realize that he fallen in love. Rosie effect is a continuation of his relationship struggle but with new project BUD - baby under development. I recommend it to anyone who is expecting a baby, but I would especially recommend it to nerds like me who has no logical thinking problems but find social interactions challenging or unnecessary (to smaller or bigger extend) ;)

Movie

Duff - this movie is very overrated. It is funny enough but really not my cup of tea. But then again, maybe I am just too old ;)

Is this really the only movie I saw this month?! I guess I had been busy with life stuff ;)

Life Event

Photo taken by tmx studio.

I've got married and I am having the best time of my life! I am infinitely happy! Wedding party went very well and guests seemed to have a lot of fun.

Travel

I have visited Poland since my wedding took place there. I have done a little road trip and train trip to see as much as possible with my guests. Before wedding we visited Gdansk the capital of amber, and the Malbork castle from year 1406. 

Then we went to Szczecin where my wedding was organized. I haven't done much of sightseeing because I had to take care of my look. My nails, skin and so on needed a bit of extra care from specialist to assure that I will look my best during the wedding day ;)

After celebration we took a night train to Krakow, which is beautiful city with a lot of monuments and history. I highly recommend following restaurants: Pod Aniolami, Wesele, and Starka (here you need to order some vodka shots because they have many different homemade flavors) food and atmosphere is just fantastic in those places. It wasn't my first time in Krakow but those restaurants are on my must visit list each time since I tried it last summer ;)

I have also gone to Auschwitz, and Birkenau (near Krakow) to reflect on human race. I think everyone should see it and understand how unacceptably cruel was what happened there. There is no words that can describe it. You walk around thinking how to describe and then it becomes obvious why one of the prisoners who survived invented a new word to describe it - holocaust. It was an important experience for me because when we discussed it during history lessons at school I think I was too young to understand it as something that really happened, that happened not so long ago. On cruelty in ancient times we can look as believe that humans have changed since then, but can we really claim it with something that happened 70 years ago?

Near Krakow there is also an old salt mine Wieliczka. The salt exploration on this territory started already 3000 years BC. At the turn of XII and XII centuries AC they began to drill deeper wells. It is a nice and very impressive place to visit. There is also a Saint Kinga's of Poland Chapel which is the worlds biggest underground temple. It is 101 meters (331 feet) below the surface.

Inspiration

Emmy Noether - I do not want to write a lot. I am just mentioning her because for some reason I have always assumed  that a man invented the Noether’s theorem, which you come across all the time in physics. I was wrong and the truth blew my mind. Emmy was  an extraordinary lady and I am so happy I got to know a bit about her and her mathematical contributions to science.

Video/Music

Started as a Baby by Jon Lajoie - this rap song made it very difficult for me to stay quiet in silent zone in train I was taking form Copenhagen to Odense. This is just too funny. But if you weren't a baby you wouldn't understand. Thus, it is only for those that started as a baby ;)

international spring wedding

There is plenty of things to think when you are about to get married.

You will be forced to have an opinion about things that never crossed your mind you need to have any opinion about.

Like choosing a photographer after looking on million of photos of happy people getting married. Or color of napkins, type of decoration on wedding table: famous dilemma we were put in front of was "Two or three candle holders" ??

We were dealing with an international wedding, I will try to organize things one has to take care of but then the truth is the chaos is bound to occur ;)

golden rule: ask for rules and regulations million of times, because probably nobody really knows ;)

Part 1 (the date)

- decide on the date
- find a party/reception place
- find a church and a priest who speaks more than one languages that your guests demand
- decide on guest list (remember that roughly for 100 people invited around 30 might not come)

- send out save the date information
- talk about traditions you would like to follow (e.g. blessing from parents, seeing or not each other before church ceremony, throwing flowers)

Part 2

- decide on dj/band
- deciding on having or not an after party (we had a breakfast for guest that stayed at the wedding hotel)
- menu (it will dictate the price of the reception and you might have to agree on that when booking the reception place)
- remembering about food allergies while discussing menu with the reception site owner/manager

- find a hotel for guests (I recommend having a party at the hotel where most or all of the guest can get a room) and reserve it for your guests

- decide on schedule (what time is the church ceremony and what time the reception starts)
- send out invitations (include names, when and where, and additional information if you want to)

- choosing best man, maid of honor - they might need some documents

- bridesmaids

- bachelor party

- bachelorette party (maybe in more than one country)

Part 3

- church wedding papers (if you getting married in church)

- matrimony office rules for both sites

- translation of some documents

- wedding dress; shoes; vail; underskirt; something to cover shoulders in church; jacket (during colder months)

- suit; shoes; belt; vest set; cotton napkins
- organizing traveling of the bride and groom to the city where the party is
- organizing any events that are taking place just before or right after the wedding (like in our case a short trips with friends/wedding guests)
- buy wedding rings (it might take up to month to make them)
- make sure your guests know how to get to the city where the wedding is (send out some practical information)

Part 4 (at least month before)

- decide on hairdresser (trying session very important)
- flowers in your hair (yes or no), discuss with your hairdresser

- decide on make-up (same trying session is essential)
- book time for manicure, pedicure, waxing, facial or whatever you want for a day before the wedding
- write down a wedding day agenda
- go to tailors and do the fitting of the wedding dress and the suit
- get to know wedding traditions of both nationalities
- meet with dj/band, priest and wedding site owners
- take some dancing classes
- decide on first dance song
- send out information about wedding ceremony to people that are not invited to the party maybe they would like to participate in the church ceremony

Part 5 (chaos)

- decide if you will take wishes from guests right after the church or at the wedding reception (for us it was easier at wedding reception - it was cold in the church and guests were happy to first go to hotel before lining up to give us congratulations)
- wedding gifts table

- wedding cake taste

- table plan

- table name tags

- photographer

- camera man (we didn't have one)

- choosing alcohol/ drinks

- labels on alcohol e.g."wedding vine"

- decide on the decoration of wedding reception room

- detailed agenda of the party (speeches, traditions, meals, first dance, wedding waltz, ....)

- transport for guests from hotel to church and from church to party

- presents for parents

- wedding bouquet (should fit more or less flowers in hair if you have any)

- choosing a new family name (or deciding what about surnames after marriage)

- learn the first dance choreography (we did swing)

- practice waltz to concrete song you will have to dance to during the wedding (I mention it if your first dance is not a waltz)

- choose church hymns that are known in both nationalities

- prepare a speeches

- decide if you want kids to through flowers in church or carry rings 

- ask what is allowed to through in front of church (rise, money... - for example many priest do not want rise because of difficulty of cleaning it afterwards)

- prepare menu in all languages that your guests demand

- it might be fun and useful to print little essential dictionaries

- in case your guests might not know each other languages you might like to decide on a translator

- decide how bride and groom are going get to church
- special car/ or car decoration
- decide on the form of the after wedding thank you cards

...

And no matter what else I was adding to this list I had a constant feeling that there was something I was forgetting about...

But, now when it is over, I can say that if I forgot about something then it was nothing big because it didn't ruin the party.
Where there things that went wrong YES hahaha like for example I forgot my wedding bouquet at the hairdresser and realized it 15 minutes before the church ceremony (I have awesome friends so it was solved very quickly). Were I excited and nervous YES but it was all natural and if one is surrounded by good people on that day they will make everything go very smooth :) I was lucky and I had friends and family being very engaged in making the wedding day special and they also took care to have a lot of fun!

We had only one candle holder, green napkins, pink name tags and pink/white flowers. It was very spring'ish. Weather was fantastic, quite cold but beautifully sunny.
I had a time of my life. I got so much love, kisses, hugs and wishes that I have now energy of thousand persons ;) My legs were so tired from dancing! I woke up at 6:30 am to got to hairdresser at 7:30 am. At 11:00 I started putting my dress on.
The marriage ceremony started at 1pm in church. We got a short photo-session in a park where we got engaged. At 3:30 we entered the wedding reception room and the party started. At 2am we ate last hot meal and went to bed 5am.
We met most of our guests that stayed at the hotel where the reception was held for breakfast at 10am. Were we tired? YES but it didn't matter because we were infinitely happy :)

I think it is priceless how important it is for both families to get to know each other, and I can not describe how much positive energy such a meeting can produce. Every single minute we invested in preparation of this day was worth it!

Both trips before and after wedding were a blast. We were lucky and the weather was sunny all the time.

It was a half a year project. It was a lot of work. But it was worth it! I am very glad we made it!
It just proves that putting a lot of heart into something will blossom with some type of goodness.

Lots of love from me and my husband :D

March wrap up

Well this was definitely getting ready to wedding month. I am getting married in few days and I am very happy. It was a lot of preparations but I hope our guests and we will have a blast :)

Book

Stealheart Brandon Sanderson - It is an awesome superhero or actually antihero action book. This anti-utopian story is very well paced, and have a nice plot twist. I've really enjoy it. It gives a bit of things to think through. People get superpowers and instead of becoming heroes they become villains. New gifts attenuate in them human nature. I already have second book - Firefight. However, there is 1.5 book Mitosis so obviously I am planning to buy and read this one before getting into Firefight, which I heard is even better than Steelheart.

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald - I think I've managed to get through it only because I saw movie (which I liked). It is classic story, so worth reading/knowing it but I enjoy it. It is written as a memory so there are a lot of details of the story that we do not know because guy that tells the story do not know. I am glad I am done with it.

Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote - I did not like the main heroine Holly Golightly, so it made it difficult for me to enjoy this story. I am generally not into stories like Pretty Woman. Which goes something like that; an intelligent, handsome and successful man falls in love with an undereducated, churlish, ill-mannered lady of easy virtue. I just cannot believe it could ever happen and if it did then the guy is probably far away from being desirable in my eyes. This story is a bit different but still Holly is not a person I could or would like to ever identify myself with.

Fifty Shades of Darker E L James - It is a second book in "Fifty Shades" trilogy. It is ok. Maybe slightly better that the first book. My fiancé says it is crazy that it take 1000 pages to cover 4 weeks of cheesy romance. I guess he is right, but ten again it is easy read, funny enough and I already know and like enough main characters. I think story gives very shallow character description and dialogs are poor. It seems like Ana and Christian could have way more to talk about but we never get any proper sample. I am probably going to read third book since I already have it and it is not so bad story to abandon it.

Movies

Kingsman - I liked it. Fun movie with a lot of action is my type of entertainment.

Whiplash - Very good movie. Fantastic music. About working hard, about limits, about morals... I think it is a must see!

Cinderella - I do not like Pretty Woman, but I do like Cinderella. I think it has a good message. That being good, brave and educated is a huge value and it will shine from with you.

Jiro dreams of sushi - it is a documentary movie about Jiro who is one of the best cooks in the world. He makes sushi and he makes it well. It is about his strict working morals about his life philosophy and about his dedication to improve his skills every single day. Very inspiring.

February wrap up

This was a very short month, wasn't it?

I have signed my master thesis contract and from March 1st I have one year to work on Effective Quantum Field Theory of Dark Energy and Inflation. I am excited!

Other than that, I am spending most of my free time on wedding preparation.

Books

"Brida" Paolo Coelho - lovely book about taking a risk of following your heart and using your talents. It is an inspiring read.

"50 Shades of Grey" - in my opinion not as scandalous as it is proclaimed. Mr. Grey is definitely abusive, but Ana agrees on things he does to her even she do not have to. Language is very colloquial but it doesn't bother me so much since english is not my native language. It ends in a way that you need to immediately start on the second book "50 Shades Darker", and that is what I am reading now.

Movies

"Imitation Game" - what a story! Mathematics skills is a great power.

I am almost sure I have watched more than one movie but I do not remember?!

I have checked my movie theater membership account and I found out that I also saw Jupiter Ascending :)

Travel

I have spend my "Valentine's Weekend" in Copenhagen with my fiancé, his family, and our friend.

 I have spend 10 last days of February in Szczecin, Poland.

On my way to Poland I have visited for few hours Berlin just to go to PRIMARK and buy some cheap basics t-shirts. 

In Szczecin I stayed with my family. I was taking care of my health and well being while running around like crazy to finalize some things regarding my upcoming wedding. I also had my bachelorette party which was a cosy evening mainly with one awesome friend.

December/January wrap-up

YouTube

Definitely Supersymmetry lectures by Fernando Quevedo became my lifesaver in December while writing report about my individual study of Supersymmetry. Lectures are awesome but the guy that was responsible for recording it has a big minus from me! There is a lot of excellent material lost! And that is very very sad! Nevertheless, those lectures are worth watching if you want to supplement any book in Supersymmetry. Especially if you do self study.

Book

"How to teach quantum physics to your dog" by Chad Orzel. It is well written, lightly funny book about physics that you can read instead of romance, and one day might become very handy if you will find yourself trying to explain quantum mechanics to your kids. I've bought it online as a Christmas gift to my fiance but couldn't control myself and read a bit the moment it arrived ;)

"Howl's moving castle" by Diana Wynne Jones is a fantasy book full of magic. It is about finding courage of seeking your fortune. About going on life adventure and becoming stronger and more aware of your own gifts and talents. Loved it and I have already bought two other books in this trilogy.

Music

have discovered two artists:

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
- Lego House
- Don't

and
Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk tf. Bruno Mars

I have enjoyed:

Kiesza - Hideaway, MAGIC! - Rude, and Sia - Chandelier

And went back to some old tracks from 2013:
John Newman - Love me again; Pharrell Williams - Happy; Lorde - Royals.


Food

Chocolate cake from Wendorff :) There are no words that can describe how much I love this cake. And it is dairy-free!! LOVE IT!! I could it it all on my own but have to share because my fiance likes it too.


Event

Christmas Eve I have spend with my danish family. It was full of great food, joy of unpacking presents and fun while dancing around the Christmas tree.

I went to Szklarska Poreba in Poland with my fiance, parents, brother and his girlfriend. I have learnt some cross country skiing - it is great workout and I think on easy trails as those in Jakuszyce near Szklarska Poreba even those that do not exercise frequently can have a lot of fun. It is always good to take a lesson or two to learn some technique. That is what I did and I found it useful.

I have visited Norway to attend a Graduate Winter School in Theoretical Physics, but I also tried Norwegian cross-country skiing. I have to say one thing about my cross-country experience there -  you cannot be a beginner in Norway. I would recommend taking some downhill lessons before you go on any trail there - just saying ;) My ankle still aches ;)


Word

Bae in Danish is a word for poop. But some people on the internet use it thinking it means baby, sweetie etc ;)


Game

"Astronauts" - card game, highly addictive, competitive - I love it! During my stay in Poland we played it everyday after skiing ;) It is about going into space and then to get points for your excursion you need to come back safely home. There is a bit of strategy and luck (dice) involved.


Movie

I have finally saw "Frozen" and I really liked it.

"American sniper" is a good movie, especially if you an ignorant like me and go to see it without knowing it is a story based on facts.

"Big Hero 6" - is fantastic! It is Disney at its best, funny and touching movie.

"Birdman" - it is not an superhero/action movie! But it is interesting and good movie, about crises when your career peak is over. It probably is even more entertaining for people from movie/theater industry because it shows perks of that work.


Hope New Year 2015 is being Good to Everyone!

November Favorites

November has passed so fast that I almost haven't realized it was there. I am glad for that because if one do not make oneself very busy it is easy to get autumn blues.

MOVIE

I was waiting for this movie longer than sane people should wait for any movie... I saw it twice in theaters and I absolutely loved it!

I am of course talking about INTERSTELLAR.

Movie is full of physics, feelings and psychology.
It beautifully shows a sacrifice that great explorers must make to discover the unknown. Breathtaking.

And who cares that in the end they break a bit of laws of nature :p

BOOK

I was only reading science stuff this month... 
And I am not sure if I would recommend books I was reading to anyone...

Maybe let me put it that way:
if you ever would decide to get to know Supersymmetry (beautiful theory in physics, that tries to explain more than the Standard Model does) then do not start from "Supersymmetry and supergravity" by Wess and Bagger. It is a classic but unless you are math oriented it will be a nightmare to go through. 
I have decided to start from "Supersymmetry DeMYSTiFieD" by Patrick Labelle. It is much more useful that Quantum Field Theory from the same DeMYSTiFieD series, but I do not find it perfect...
Anyway...
Supersymmetry is worth the struggle but the struggle is definitely there ;P

MAKE-UP

Definitely a blush and eye-shadow from Body Shop that since I bought them I wear whenever I go out.
The Blush - 01 all-in-one cheek color shade: macaroon - my first blush in very long time and I like how it makes me look healthy and fresh. Not that I mind looking pale and sick but it is a nice change when going out :)
The Eyeshadow - 01 eye color shade: copper!
A very sweet shop assistant recommended it for my skin tone and I think he was right.
I wanted something that you can put on eye lids and it looks good without any effort.
My make up skills are very poor and making something like a smokey eye surpass them ...

Anyway, I think this eye shadow is very beautiful, it is easy to put on with basic brush and it adds a bit of glam to a natural look. Thank you Body Shop for releasing me from learning advanced make-up tricks that I would rarely use ;)

EVENT

I went with a surprise visit to my parents, because my mum had birthday!
I took a train.
I had a half a day in Berlin thanks to that trip. 

I took a long walk ... a bit longer than expected... to have a cup of coffee with a friend and then continued to my hometown Szczecin.

It was a perfect family time.
 It loaded my batteries with extra energy that still helps me to survive those grey, cold and windy fall days.

...

One day when I went out for a walk I smelled winter in the wind.
There is this bite in the air that one cannot ignore.
The winter has arrived!

Happy December everyone :)

make up or not to make up

We are surrounded by commercials, posters everywhere we go. People presented there are covered with make-up regardless their gender, age and beauty. No matter how much we are aware of photoshop, filters and other tricks of perfecting images, it can get into us.

It can make us think, that this is true beauty, ideal. Those images are made so that we will have a crush on people presented there. 

Commercials manipulate us to buy things, but what is worse they stuff us with images of "perfect" face, body, and life.
They make us think that what they represent is a true happiness.

I do not wear make-up on everyday basis.
I have never done that. I would do that only when going out, special occasions and so on.
Which means I do own some make-up and at least once a month when my hormones play with my mind I do question the way I look. It doesn't help that it is exactly the same time when I get the biggest amount of skin issues ;)

I do feel at those moments like the ugliest creature alive, but who doesn't?

The problem is if one feels bad about oneself everyday!

One just needs to STOP (easy to say hard to achieve)...
You beautiful, even without make up.
I do not think make-up is bad. I just think it is ok to look "bad", have dark circles under eyes, redness, pores, or a breakout. Everyone gets them.
The drive to look perfect is just not worth time and attention.
It is an unhealthy obsession that is out there waiting for our weak days just like a trap.

Our face is pretty just the way it is!

Instead of covering imperfections, it is better to try to find a source of bad skin in lifestyle.
Maybe too little water, too much stress, or too little sleep.
It is important to find what bothers your body, before it turns into something more serious than a breakout.

(If one suffers from severe acne then there is probably some health or lifestyle issue and I would recommend going to the doctor, changing diet for more clean food, and go to professional beauty salon for advice and treatment.)

It is not only our face that other people see.
There is also energy that comes out of us that makes people around like us.
If the energy is good no one worth your time will care about little imperfections.
What is more, there will one day come around someone that will find our bubbly face the most adorable on Earth.
It will be this positive energy that will attract that person and then who cares about the rest of the world.

We are billions of people and we are all different and that is phenomenal!
The diversity is a beauty of nature.
Our birthmarks or freckles make us unique.

There is no such an amount of "selfie" that one can take that will boost our self-confidence.
And no "likes" on facebook or instagram will gives us peace about the way we look.

Make-up will not cure real problems. 

It is not the look that in the end will make people love us and appreciate us. 

It will be all about who we are and how we look when we just woke up...

Breathe in and out...
 This covered up by superficial values world do not have to take over our life.

It is not make-up and perfect look what we admire about doctors that rescued our, or someones we love, life. It is their knowledge and skills.
It is not a pretty teacher but a passionate that will make the difference.

And if we want to then of course we should wear make-up but it should be worn for fun not as an armor.

Stay happy :)