Ten years ago.......

...I started this personal blog to share some of my traveling and other experiences with friends and relatives, and this was done simply for practical reasons.  It was less time consuming than individual emails and it allowed easy insertions of pictures. To my great surprise, over time, I saw my postings being accessed by a variety of people all over the world, whose countries now amount  to 115, and I am glad to have peaked such curiosity for my country of origin, still considered mysterious by some! 

Although a comment feature was rarely used, privately, I did receive many commentaries from the people I know and, interestingly, also a few requests from strangers for information specifically related to Albania and their interest in this country.  I was happy to have been able to oblige them.   

During the decade that preceded this anniversary I had embarked in new projects that would take me back  to Albania, which I was forced to leave when I was just 5 ½ years old. I always dreamed of returning to it,  to contribute something that would be helpful to the younger generations of this small nation, besieged for centuries by wars, foreign occupations, and oppressing dictatorships.  

My dream, slowly, but surely is becoming reality, and, I now spend quite a bit of time blogging elsewhere on behalf of my efforts.  Thus, I believe that now is a good time to bow out of this personal diary, although I have decided to keep still open for a while, my entries in it, archived since September 2004.  

The people I know that care about what I am involved in, also know where to find me, as well as more updated and fresh news about my work development.  Online facilities have progressed and evolved greatly since I began this blog and any and every type of information is available with just a few clicks on the keyboard.  

Thus, while I bid goodbye, mirupafshim, au revoir, arrivederci…I thank all my followers, to whom I wish other continuously enjoyable online experiences.  We are living very interesting and challenging times in this great world of ours where everyone has the chance to aid for the better, its transformation.

"Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement." –W. Clement Stone

Am sharing....

…..this delightfullyeducational video with friends and people that may have missed this online.

It's a bit long (~ 18") to watch, but it encapsulate quite a few life learning experiences well suitable especially to the young, embarking into reality after graduation.     

There is always time to learn

I am currently in the midst of updating for the nth time my personal legal papers, and, quite coincidentally and appropriately, today I came across this interesting article in the NY Times. 

I have gone through this exercise repeatedly during my life, since I do believe in leaving some sort of meaningful documents to whomever will have to take care of me, when and if incapacitated, and will have to deal with my affairs after my demise. Every time I am also amazed about how many changes can take place in one’s existence as the days and years go by!

Reading this article gave me comfort that so far I have always covered the necessary grounds to accomplish the above goal, but, even today when I read it, I found in it an additional clue about a situation I had not thought about, but that recently has entered into my life, and thus requires some extra deliberation, which will be incorporated into my plans. 

All this confirms that there is always something to learn in life until the very last moment. My mother used to say that ‘life is a school’ and I might add that its results will be dealt with at ‘graduation time’!

Getting to know more about Albania

For my friends who do not share news via FB, but, I know, might be interested in getting more acquainted with the country of my origin, here are a couple of articles that depict the current situation in this tiny country.

Some of you have already visited Albania, but may have missed some beautiful spots and the contrasts between the eastern and western cultures that Tirana offers , even by itself. They are summarized in this article by Argophilia, if you care to revisit or will eventually land one day in this capital. 

For others still considering this some sort of a mysterious country, yes, there are completely strange spots in it. In most cases they are accessible only by foot and visited by adventurers or expert mountaineers. One of them, although well known for its ‘dark side’, was until very recently, totally self contained and unattainable even by the local enforcement agencies. Channel4 was apparently curious enough to make it there.     

An exceptional visit

After more than two decades another Papal visit to Albania is scheduled to take place on September 21, 2014, as per today's news from Vatican Radio. 

Interesting to note in the last paragraph of above article the origin of a few ancient Popes  and their connection to this country. 

Holiday weekend

This Independence Day weekend turned out to be a mixture of bad and good weather, here in NYC. 

After a week of extreme heat and humidity, and a couple of dreadful  storms two days in a raw, the rain stopped just in time for the 4^th of July fireworks to be enjoyed, also thanks to a drastic drop in temperature during the evening,  by the huge crowds that gathered along the East River in NYC to watch them .  Here in the city, we have been lucky this week to have been spared  by Arthur, the first hurricane of this season that has created havoc along the Eastern coast of the U.S., and today we have gorgeous sunshine tempered by a very strong wind.

As it happens during long holiday weekends, I am usually the only one in town on my floor, and a strange, but welcome silence permeates not only the building in which I live, but also the avenue of our location.  For a variety of reasons it is a very busy and noisy thoroughfare during the week,  but during this type of weekend there is a complete stillness in the air, with practically nonexistent vehicular traffic, except for an occasional taxi passing by.  

It’s great to have all windows open and not hear even a fly go by……it’s a perfect time to catch up with desk work that is not on the ‘must do list’ and to enjoy on TV some of the exiting soccer matches taking place in Brazil.

Unfortunately, the forecast for Monday is again very high temperature and another heat wave for the rest of the week!  Let’s just savor this brief delightful break, before it’s time again to shut the windows and turn on the a/c day and night!