Flight & co

Aaaahh, flight.....

I love to fly. On airplanes.

I like to fly because planes are cool. Because planes go high up and go really fast (you can see this in two situations: partially when you take off / land, and fully when you pass by another airplane, both at cruise speed). And because it's comfy - you get a seat with a movable back. And because you have a very, very, very nice view from a plane. Well, most times at least. And because you can actually feel, at take-off and landing, really nice forces produced by acceleration to and from about 200-300 km/h.

And I like flying because, especially when you fly alone, nobody disturbs you. You *cannot be* disturbed. Nobody can come to you here. You are unreachable by phone or by email or by any other means. You are at 12000m above all usual professional or personal space. You are even, in a way, outside of time, especially when you fly across several time zones and the very time of day becomes relative. You are... isolated from everything for some time, and that is like so cool.

And flight is a very organized business. Everything has a schedule, everything is well marked, all phases are clear. You know that, to a great extent, everything is checked. Double checked. All the doors and all the little compartments for drinks and plastic glasses and the coffee filter are checked, and double-locked. It is a system that you _feel_ is really safe. And, even more, it is. Makes you feel good. And they always (almost) speak English. And as it is a relatively novel means of transportation, you get some reasonable amount of luxury (well, actually that is starting to go to hell, because low-cost flight is around for some time).

And I like flying in economy class (as compared to low-cost. I've never been on business class, I guess it's nicer there). Because there there are people who serve you, who look nice at you, and who smile at you. And you get free ('course, that's relative, but it seems free anyway, as you don't pay for it directly) food. And drinks. And coffee. And you get a fork and a knife and a teaspoon - i know that usually people get rid of them, and they are sh*t cause they're plastic, but I have learned in the past that if you're going to a new place, it might be good to have them in case you have to eat something; I flew low-cost to London, and when we bought some food from the supermarket, it was nasty not to have what to eat it with.

So the two flights for today are with Olympic Air. That's the old Olympic Airlines that got renamed and re-branded in the course of privatization. I feared this set of two flights a lot, because I don't trust Greeks much. However, things are going quite well. It is my first flight with a company having a primary language that I don't know (so far I've flown Tarom, Air France and Ryan Air). The stewardesses are nice, pretty (they are Greek, so it is to appreciate that they are, however, pretty) and don't wear a coat, but some sort of colored blouse with no sleeves (sexy!). Now that I have finally finished eating (we passed the Alps and there was this superb view so I took pictures for about 15 minutes, while having interrupted the lunch), I must admit that the food was good, better than Tarom/Air France, the usual all-religion-safe-non-vegeterian chicken with rice and mushrooms was tasty, had much chicken and many pieces of mushroom, they gave a salad and cheese and butter and crackers and desert and Greek biscuits, which is not bad (had some white wine too, but that's usual). Also, I have this feeling that the seats are slightly more spaced than with Tarom / Air France, and they definitely are.

The plane is half empty. My row was full, with me at the isle, which was bad, but by divine miracle the two ladies at my side decided to move to the row in front, so I took the window seat, and the view, as I said, was awesome and I took lots of pictures.



===============

Cyprus is an island. I also found out that it is fairly large island (~200km in length), located frighteningly close to the Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan & co.

It is quite barren. Much stone, many bushes, little fertile ground. Houses are small, usually with one floor, white or light-colored, the same as you'd expect in any Mediterranean area located around the 35th parallel.

Also surprisingly I found that their cars are the-other-hand-drive, making it weird and nausea-inducing to be in a car on their streets. At least in the south-eastern area, where I have been (Larnaca - Ayia Napa), they have almost only Mercedes E-Classes (or older equivalents) as taxis, and even some 6-door / 7-seat models, with one of which I have traveled myself, and it's reasonably cool.

In general, cities are few, small, and tourist-oriented, having a few main streets with palm trees and restaurants and shops (not simultaneously), and being boring and barren (and most likely not tourist friendly) in the rest. This is my opinion based on experience with Larnaca and Ayia Napa.

In Ayia Napa I enjoyed 5-star comfort with pool and jacuzzi and immediate proximity to the sea (in which I also took a short bath, which is cool considering that it is December. True, I was alone to do it). It reminded me how cool it is to be a researcher (with support from the part of your advisor).



==============

I returned in a snowed Paris and in a home at 5°C (in the interior). With heating at max, it reached 12° in the morning. I slept with a hoodie and in a sleeping bag.

I left directly to the airport as I have been informed by trusted sources that there are issues with the flights. I reached CDG at 10.30 to find my flight, managed by Air France (in code-share with Tarom, me having a Tarom ticket), had been canceled, as all (i think) flights of Air France to Bucharest that day. I walked half the airport to try to find someone from Tarom, I found somebody in terminal 2B, where the Tarom flights are leaving from towards Ro. All Tarom flights were leaving in time. I managed to get a boarding pass for the next flight to Bucharest. Take-off was delayed over 2 hours, but I finally reached Bucharest.

Dec

December. My december. My december in Paris. My december in Paris for 2 weeks, compared to 3 days last year. Improvement, yes.

December Este un decembrie rece. Pana acum cel putin. E al naibii de frig. Sunt 5 grade afara.

Acum, in trenul care vine de la Nantes, ma gandesc cu groaza ca dupa un weekend cu incalzirea la minim, trebuie sa fie incredibil de frig si se va incalzi incredibil de greu. Nu pot decat sa sper ca vecinii mei n-au fost in vacanta si n-au fost prea meschini si au tinut incalzirea lor cat mai mare, astfel ca a mai patruns si la mine ceva caldura. Sau poate nu.

Dupa o saptamana in care, din motive atat personale (foate bune, si de care sub nici o forma nu imi pare rau) cat si profesionale (a venit AMF pe la Paris / Lille, m-am plimbat cu ea prin aeroport luni, am luat-o de la si dus-o la gara joi, am participat la intalnirea pentru un master european toata ziua de joi, etc) n-am lucrat nimic (cu o foarte buna aproximatie), vine o saptamana in care trebuie sa-mi platesc aceste pacate profesionale.

Mai precis, trebuie sa scriu un articol in 4 zile, la care nu am scris nimic, care este in mare parte despre ceva care am mai descris in alte doua articole, dar trebuie sa fie cat de cat diferit, si pentru care experimentele nu numai ca nu au fost facute, dar platforma nu este inca terminata. Nu stiu daca ma voi descurca. Deadline-ul e deja amanat, deci nu stiu daca se va mai amana din nou, dar oricum situatia n-ar fi cu mult mai simpla.

Cu groaza, cu ceva interes, cu ceva speranta, cu semnificativa fericire si nerabdare si cu ceva intrebari ma gandesc ca mai am o saptamana de stat aici si apoi incep sa plec. Intai la o conferinta, apoi ma intorc la paris si in urmatoarea zi ma intorc in ro. Daca pe unde apare vreo eroare, e naspa.

Dar totusi m-am bucurat de saptamana care a trecut. M-am bucurat mult. Nu numai din cauza vietii personale, nu din cauza ca am descoperit un webcomic nou (sam and fuzzy) care are sanse sa-mi devina placut, dar pentru ca nu am stat toata saptamana la laborator lucrand.

E o viata destul de anosta la laborator. Colegii sunt simpatici ei asa, dar lucreaza majoritatea timpului, si in general e un mediu care te indeamna la lucru. Si ajung dimineata, inca nu complet trezit, la pranz mananc, stau pana seara, revin, stau la calculator, si ma culc. Nu e nimic fenomenal. Mai rau, nu ma ajuta foarte mult sa gandesc liber, si inovativ.

Poate chiar mai rau este faptul ca nu simt ca progresez foarte bine. Nu e ca as fi pierdut drumul ("lost my way"), dar imi pare ca lucrurile merg asa greu, si putin in ceata. Si asta ma supara. Si pare ca zilele, si nu numai, dar saptamanile, trec fara sa se intample nimic important, fara sa obtin rezultate esentiale, sau fara sa obtin rezultate de loc. Stiu, asa e cercetarea, si stiu ca asta este ceea ce mi-am dorit, si este, si e ok. Dar uneori e greu.

Si aici ma gasesc acum. In trenul spre Paris, dupa un weekend la Nantes. Cu chef de lucru, cu chef sa fac ceva, ceva care conteaza, care ma va ajuta, cu oarecare chef sa scriu (stiintific), dar cu constienta ca va fi greu si ca lucrurile vor merge incet si va trebui sa ard etape, cu teama ca nu voi avea timp. Dar cu speranta, si incredere.

Si mai ales cu mari intrebari legate de rezultatele alegerilor (da, am votat) si de ce naiba va urma in ro de acum.