I'm writing this post on my way to Szczecin (having a mobile internet finally pays off - I've never used it until today, I can save some time and take a rest when I get home). Normally I prefer to read books and listen to the music, but this time I came up with an idea for a post and I want to share something with you immediately.
Last week I bought a book called "Runners life"in our cafeteria (that's what I love about this place, every time I go there I have an instant need for lecture). This time I made a great choice, this book is just perfect!
I like running from time to time. I'd love to develop my running skills but every time I try to improve and run more, I immediately get sick and need to stay in bed for at least two days. That is why I find my latest lecture so interesting. This book was written by a runner, and by runner I mean a guy who has been running his whole life and really know what it's all about. He gives some very practical clues how to improve and how to work on your body. I don't need any source of motivation because running is so awesome I can't imagine my life without it, but if you need to find a reason to get out of bed and force yourself to get sore muscles, sweat and pain, you will find it in this book.

There's so much going on lately that I have no idea what to write about this week, and since our test is coming I've decided to combine writing a post with my learning process. I prepared some words that I find really hard to memorise and I want to share them with you. I don't know how on earth am I going to learn them by heart and recall them tomorrow, apparently authors of our workbook did a great job when they decided to put together such ridiculous words as creaking or crackling. So there you go : 

with no regard for reality check  - it's not that hard, my only problem is to memorize the preposition

staggering - I was proud enough to learn such sophisticated words as "astonishing" of "bewildering" and there's another synonym, even more difficult to learn

dwindling and dwelling - come on! they are so similar, I keep repeating "dwindling resources" but than some stupid voice in my head changes it again into "dwelling resources" - I'm pretty sure sth like this does not exist

implement and impending - well this is just mean. I know they aren't even the same part of speech, but still, they are so hard to learn.

trickle - I don't even know how to name it in Polish, there are few words describing it, but all of them seem inadequate

and finally, my favourite : 

creaking and crakling - I try to link one of them up with eating and another one with a monster coming out of a wardrobe and doing a creaking sound, but they still make me go crazy

As I was sifting through the photos on my computer I realised that it's been so long since I've been hiking in the mountains. I need to do something about it. This year I promise myself, I'll go there no matter what. We always promise ourselves to do this and that, but eventually we find any excuse not to do something, like "I don't have time" or "I'll do it later". No, you will not do it later. And if you really want to do something, you'll always find the time to do it. That is why this year there are no excuses - I need to go to Tatry, sunbath on the top of....Rysy or Kozi Wierch? We'll see. 

watertight - impossible to argue or prove wrong

dreary - boring and depressing

scruffy - old and worn out, untidy

astute - clever and understanding people and situations

tedious - boring and often frustrating

mundane - ordinary, boring, giving little satisfaction

Recently I'm trying to get back on the track with my studies. As always I start with the most important task - choosing the perfect music for studying. This rules out every polish song, because polish lyrics distract me. Another type of songs not suitable for studying is pop. Everything you can hear on the radio is being played to entertain and as we know studying is not the most entertaining task in the world, so these two don't really combine. One radio that can pass is Chill Zet, but it makes me too sleepy to stay motivated. What I do, is take my father's CDs and search for jazz. That's how I discovered Pat Metheny. He's a brilliant guitar player, he recorded millions of CDs and most of them I really adore. Check out "Secret story" of "Imaginary day". You may know him from his cooperation with Anna Maria Jopek, the single promoting their CD was "Tam gdzie nie sięga wzrok".
His music is perfect to relax, to go on a long trip (me and my parents used to listen to him all the time during holidays, when we were stuck in a traffic for example) and to learn. Give it a try!

Another words for today :

blunt - someone who says what he really thinks,even if it may hurt sb or is impolite

brash - annoyingly loud, overconfident

callous - cruel and heartless

fickle - not faithful or loyal to friends

meticulous - someone who is really careful about what he does, paying attention to small details

squeamish - someone who doesn't like the sight of unpleasant things such as blood

sullen - someone who is bad tempered and do not speak much

Whenever I want to relax I face a very complicated problem : should I discover a new movie or should I watch one of my favourites? I love that type of problems, I could have them every day if only I had time.
I want to share with you one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. It fits perfectly my type of sensibility, it's music touches me to my very core and I have to watch it at least twice a year (this rule is as important as the rule of watching "Home alone" every Christmas). It's called "Once".
I'm not going to talk about the plot, there's no point in that, you just have to sit down with a huge mug of hot coffee, cover yourself with a huge blanket and watch.

If you like them and want to discover more, this is the song from their last album "Strict joy".

My new year's resolution is to develop my language skills (both English and French), so I'll post here few new words that I will force myself to learn and never forget. Enjoy!

disconcerting - causing one to feel unsettled
errant - travelling in search of adventure
emblazoned - decorated, ornamented
billow - a large mass of something, typically smoke, cloud or steam
sprawl - a carelessly relaxed position in which one's arms and legs are spread out

It's already fourth day of a new year and I still think about new year's eve. I had a great time and I keep comparing this year's party to the others I had. 

Last year, for the first time, I decided to stay at home. I ate pizza, drank wine, danced a little and had a lot of fun, even though I spent it with only one person. This year I decided to go out. I thought this could be a good way to compare these two styles of partying and decide which one I prefer. The problem is, both of them were great.  It's not possible to decide which is better - party with a huge group of people (most of them unknown) or a meeting with boyfriend, music and wine? 

The general idea of welcoming the new year by partying and dancing all night long is a great way to be exhausted the next day, which is supposed to be the most productive, because the rule says "first day of the year defines the rest of it" (I really hope that rule isn't valid, I slept all day).To start the new year productively it's better to stay at home, relax and go to sleep right after midnight, but as long as I'm not forced to do it, I guess I prefer to dance a little longer and collect great memories.  

Lately I've been searching for my favourite song lyrics. In English everything sounds better, even Rihanna's "Umbrella" doesn't sound so stupid, but that's the magic of this language, I suppose. Of course there are some songs like "Anaconda" that are so stupid, that no language can suppress it, but anyway, let's get to the point. I've been searching for my favourite lyrics in Polish.

I started with Kasia Nosowska (this brilliant woman comes from Szczecin, naturally). She wrote some many different pieces that I find it too difficult to find my one favourite. Still, I've decided to choose "Chyba", it's quite old but very interesting in it's simple form. It seems like a short song about nothing in particular, but that's the charm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHSo0Qo0g4


Moving on, another great songwriter is Artur Rojek. Recently he finished his adventure with Myslovitz and decided to record something on his own. I was devastated, but it turned out to be a great idea. The whole album is brilliant, I love songs like "to co będzie" or "krótkie momenty skupienia", but to draw your attention to this great guy, I recommend you his first single promoting his album, there you go :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHSo0Qo0g4


When I was in high school, I was really crazy about Pidżama Porno. Lyrics written by Grabaż were like encyclopedia to me. He still writes some good stuff with his present band, Strachy na Lachy, but the magic of "Gdy zostajesz u mnie na noc" stays irreplaceable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUTeCh9MOfw


And finally, my greatest master of written word - Łona! I don't like hip hop but he's so much more than a rapper. Of course he's also from Szczecin, that's the cradle of brilliant people. His concerts are pure masterpieces, there's so much positive energy. People from Szczecin are crazy about him, we always ripp off our throats when he starts to sing. Anyway, just listen to him and hopefully you'll share our admiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1rYlzac3gs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayr0qXppofo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wHluV2vnI



The last thing I want you to see is a verse of a song "Ludzie odchodzą" written by Łona. I don't like the voices of rappers singing in it, that's why I'm just going to put here his verse, it's about death but written in a very unusual and subtle way.

"Codziennie tracę jeden dzień bezpowrotnie
W starciu z tą, która w końcu mnie dotknie
I choć istotnie zapominam o niej
Ona nagle tuż obok przypomina mi o sobie dotykając kogoś
Towarzysząc mi z rosnącym uporem
Zastępując ciszą słowa niewypowiedziane w porę
Trudno o poręcz skoro tak ciężko o dowód
Że istnieje coś poza końcem na końcu tych schodów
Trzeba przyjąć to pamiętając o tych których serca już nie biją
Bo póki pamiętamy oni żyją
Wciąż dając nam obraz tego
że ci, których kochamy odchodząc od nas
Zostają w nas samych
Będąc gdzieś tam i gdzieś tu równocześnie
Szkoda, że was nie ma, dobrze, że jesteście"

New year came and all I do is sleep and eat. I guess that's the magic of Christmas - all you do is cook, than Christmas Eve comes and you have to eat it all. Then you get so tired of eating that you sleep all the time - sounds familiar? That's probably why I completely forgot that I am actually a student and that it's about time I learn something, or maybe write a post, or some essay...This year I promised myself to find the motivation to get out of the bed, wear something that is neither pyjamas nor fluffy onesie and to spend this christmas break productively. It didn't work out the way I imagined, but at least my plan was good. I try to spend as much time as possible taking long walks and enjoying my stay in Szczecin. In few days I have to go back to Poznań and I have no idea how on earth am I supposed to get up at 7 and go study? Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, we are all the same!

This post perfectly reflects my actual state of spirit. I don't think about anything apart form "what should I eat today?", so I am definitely not capable of writing about anything more interesting that how awesome it is to take a rest from time to time and act like bears in winter that eat a lot and go to their winter sleep. That's what I'm doing - winter sleeping. I hope you're doing the same thing.

And last but not least - have a great new year!