The Flying Mermaid ★: 2019

The new year is coming, the new beginning, time to close the old chapter, people are getting a lot of conscience and... Of course, New Year's resolutions.

We all know those who create entire lists with dreams that they want to come true in the upcoming twelve months... And wait until it happens. We all know that there are those who, to motivate, add faith and keep their promise given to themselves, announce it to the whole world.

And me, well... Maybe I'm too modest, not very effusive, but I haven't written a book about how many things I would like in a sprinting year. I don't have much to say or brag about the hundred-meter list of ideas and dreams awaiting coming true.

I'm not waiting for gift from heaven because I know I won't get it. I know that nothing will come to me by itself. I have no dreams for 2020. I have goals. I don't wait for things that happen wonderfully themselves. I don't say "I would like". No, because I know that I can, that I am able to do that, that I can afford to bring my dreams to life, which I set the deadline for, dreams that are no longer dreams, but something more important and more powerful - goals. Goals that are within my reach. Because I'm strong. Because I believe. Because I have this something in me. Because if not me, then nobody.

I know that it won't t be easy, that there will be a great fight, sweat, blood and tears. I know it's gonna cost me a lot of stress, patience and sacrifice. But nothing is effortless. There is no success without work. There is no victory without faith.

The new year starting in a few hours is for me the beginning of a completely new life. The beginning of what I have been waiting for for years. The beginning of what faith and self-confidence gave me. Believing that I am someone who can, who is able to achieve anything, who has the strength that many lack. This year is not a year of dreams and rocking in the clouds. This is a year of goals and successes. This year is a huge step for me, a step towards what seemed impossible a year ago.

And you, enter 2020 under the sign of dreams or goals? Do you act or only want? Take or just wait for the gift from heaven? The decision is only yours.

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Where have you gone?

What happened to you?

Did you quit writing?

You loved it so much...

I have read and heard these questions at almost every step for last several months. People watch, see and feel that something has changed, that something is "wrong". Some miss my posts, others are curious, and others concerned about the current state of things, because my end of writing seems almost as unbelievable as the end of the world in December this year. So what's going on?

Many are wondering if I really decided to close the chapter called creation and stop working on the blog, even though I couldn't imagine myself and my life without this before. So... did I do that? Really?

No. Running a blog, writing and taking photos for my readers is still my great passion, something that gives me joy and a feeling of big satisfaction, but...

As you know, I'm not just an ordinary blogger who is a free bird and has time to write new articles whenever wants. I am also a flight attendant, a person flying all over the world, in my life everything changes like a kaleidoscope every day, and living between the skies and Madagascar, Zanzibar, Maldives and many others, finding even a moment for a blog is incredibly hard. Incredibly.

It cannot be hidden that I live at top speed, wandering between all continents with one breath. One day I am in Cuba, the other in Oman, and the third in Amsterdam. I often forget what a sleep is and I dream that could add to each day another twelve, and preferably (what a dreamer I am!) Twenty-four hours...

You must be thinking "How has she not gone crazy yet?!", right? I didn't go crazy because I love flying above all else and the work of Cabin Crew is (literally) a life for me, part of me, my personality, my personal energy. I can't even think what would happen if I was suddenly forbidden to travel... And I prefer not to think, because this vision would definitely not be colorful and would definitely not give me positive vibes. However... Where is the blog place in all this? Where is the space for creativity in this mess? Has being a flight attendant killed my creativity and the need to share my experiences with the world?

No! Of course not! But the facts are hard and indisputable. The day can't be extended, time cannot be stopped, and space-time cannot be bent according to your own needs. And although I feel an irresistible desire to come back, I would love to do this - posting from the sky is not light as a cloud. Add to this fatigue and a lot of overdue matters after coming back home, which must be managed as soon as possible and there is quite a big confusion. Even more than quite. It's not easy, but despite this, I will try to go over the obstacles and appear here, even only twice a month, but be - after all it's always better something than nothing.

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I wrote a letter in the bottle.
Modern people will laugh at me, environmentalists will eat.
How can I do that?!

It's the 21st century, everything around is developing, there are more and more ways of communication, and yet... Who would think that sometimes a return to something known only from the stories and memories of the older generation is able to bring a lot of joy and sentiment.
It may seem ridiculous and old-fashioned, but I decided to try myself the ritual loved especially by lovers and romantics experiencing their youth in the last century.
Hot beach, tropical island, paper, pen and bottle, and in the bottle, closed feelings of the moment and dreams that were about to be hidden by the ocean. Scenario as from a romantic movie? Going back in time? Maybe, but who has never tried, that...
For some, it's a total nonsense, but wouldn't it be fantastic to find a bottle on the ocean shore with a letter written by a completely stranger whom you don't know anything about, you have no idea who are they, what do they look like, what they doe, or why did they do that, and then along with the unfolding sheet of rolled up paper, the story of this man unfolds, paints their picture, their emotions, feelings, experiences are displayed in front of your eyes like on a projector... Who are they. Mysterious and also kind of romantic experience that will definitely be remembered for a long time.
As a child, spending time on the beach, especially close to the sea, I always wondered what it would be like to write a letter whose recipient is someone unknown on the other side of the great water, and the indefinite delivery time, dictated by power of waves. In my mind I had various, wide scenarios, "what would happen if"... What would happen if the sea threw the parcel in another country, how would the person who finds it react, whether anyone would open it or maybe it would stuck somewhere on the bottom for all eternity, found only by sea creatures, and what if you add contact details, maybe a mysterious recipient would write back...?
As many times as I stood on the shore through years, so many times I was full of such questions, and finally I decided to do it and satisfy the curiosity of a little girl from years ago, as an adult.
I wrote a letter in a bottle, exactly the way I had imagined it at the time, filling it to the brim with who I am, as if it was to be the only souvenir that will be left after me somewhere in the big world. Will this story be continued? Who knows, but one thing is sure, it is an incredibly positive experience that I will always be glad to remember.

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London. A big, cosmopolitan city, a total mix of cultures and nationalities, a language that everyone knows, good work and the opportunity to blend in with the crowd.

Barcelona. The colorful, lively capital of Catalonia, the center of Spanish tourism, the pulsating atmosphere, filled with hot blood and fiery temperament, a city of artists and colorful souls, surrounded by hot sands of beaches.

So why did I set a new beginning and instead of London, I chose Barcelona? What made me decide to give up places where I was assured a job at British national airlines, where communication with others, although in a foreign country, was easier than anywhere else, because who doesn't know English nowadays and the country where English is the official language? A dream come true! Are you sure? For me it was not as perfect as it seemed at first and also seemed so to me. Despite the first good impression, London isn't my city, not my climate, not my atmosphere. Frequent rain, fog, cold, often not only in weather... Huge crowding, and above all, prices so big that it can reach the cosmic space.

What about Barcelona? Why Barcelona? And what about Venice, was there also Venice before Barcelona? There was London, there was move to Venice, but well, Barcelona is an absolute winner in all respects.

Despite the fact that Barcelona itself has already had several independent posts, where it was written, among others, why for me it's the perfect city and that I also came here by working at airlines, it is also worth comparing it to the capital of Great Britain. Is the difference between the two big? It is large and felt at every turn. In Barcelona it's much more pleasant, more hospitable, light and definitely much cheaper. But most importantly, the Spanish mentality is completely different from the British one, much more open and temperament, which is consistent with my own personality, what is why I feel so much better in such a place.

And with a grain of salt, who would like to spend their lives in the rain, in the fog, under grey clouds, when we could bathe in the sun and soak up full strength all year round?

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"Don't brag"

"Keep it for yourself"

"It's not nice to tell people about your successes, you have to be modest"

Who has ever listened to this kind of "wisdom"? Or, otherwise, is there anyone who has not been instructed and shut up in this way? I was too. And finally I said it's enough and definitely cut off from the ideology of "being nobody".

Why should the person who achieved any success, reached something big, managed to achieve something that is unreachable for others, must remain quiet and enjoy it alone, when someone who did nothing screams all over the world and rises in glory, because they even exist? For me it's a complete abstraction, a typical celebration of emptiness over fullness.

For most people, being proud of yourself, appreciating yourself and your efforts is pure evil and conceit. Why? Most often, the reason is clear, it stings them like salt in their eyes, irritates that someone could, someone succeeded, and they... They are, because they are and would give everything not to hear about someone's successes. Effect? Malice, rudeness, often hate.

Is it a reason so should one get rid of the sense of happiness and pride? In my opinion - absolutely not! Being proud, enjoying what you have managed to come to, is really not a bad thing to stop and to be ashamed of. Do you have a reason for that? Don't listen to people and be proud of yourself, because no one else has worked for you and nobody has the right to take your right for the joy of victory in the fight against difficulties encountered on your way.

"Nie chwal się"

"Zachowaj to dla siebie"

"Nieładnie mówić ludziom o swoich sukcesach, trzeba być skromnym"

Kto w życiu nasłuchał się tego typu mądrości? Albo inaczej, czy jest ktoś, kto nie był w ten sposób pouczany i uciszany? Ja też byłam. Aż w końcu powiedziałam dość i stanowczo od ideologii "bycia nikim" się odcięłam.

Z jakiego powodu osoba, która odniosła jakikolwiek sukces, doszła do czegoś dużego, udało jej się osiągnąć coś, co dla innych jest nieosiągalne, musi pozostać cicho i cieszyć się tym samotnie, kiedy ktoś, kto nie zrobił nic, krzyczy na cały świat i unosi się w chwale, bo w ogóle istnieje? Dla mnie to kompletna abstrakcja, typowa celebracja pustki nad pełnością.

Dla większości ludzi, bycie z siebie dumnym, docenianie siebie i swoich wysiłków, to czyste zło i zarozumiałość. Dlaczego? Najczęściej powód jest jasny, kłuje ich to jak sól w oczach, drażni, że ktoś mógł, komuś się udało, a oni... Są, bo są i daliby wszystko, żeby o czyichś sukcesach nawet nie słyszeć. Efekt? Złośliwość, opryskliwość, niejednokrotnie hejt.

Czy z tego powodu, powinno się pozbywać poczucia spełnienia, dumy? Moim zdaniem - absolutnie nie! Bycie dumnym, cieszenie się z tego, do czego udało się dojść, to naprawdę nie jest coś złego, od czego wypadałoby się powstrzymywać i czego należy się wstydzić. Masz do tego powód? Nie słuchaj ludzi i bądź z siebie dumny, bo nikt inny za Ciebie na to nie pracował i nikt nie ma prawa odbierać Ci prawa radości ze zwycięstwa w walce z napotkanymi na drodze przeciwnościami.

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Is the work of the flight attendant mentally exhausting?

Is it true that there is a lot of pressure from other employees?

Is the hostility of other flight attendants common?

I have heard these questions more than once and I will probably hear more than once. That is why I decided to refer to this, because most often people asking about this are interested in the phenomenon of mobbing in airlines. So, is it or isn't it?

I have already worked in several lines, so I can say that I have a smaller or bigger comparison between them, even in this matter. In general, I strongly deny that such practices are everyday routine in this work and usually the crews work together and respect each other, instead of terrorizing each other, so the picture of bad stewardess attacking colleagues is definitely a caricature inconsistent with reality. However, unfortunately, it's not perfect, although all the time since I started flying, it was rather calm and pleasant, in one of my previous airlines I had unpleasantness to encounter behavior that could surely be classified as mobbing, so... Just so it wasn't too boring and idyllic, one person eagerly insulted, offended and humiliated other crew members, even in front of passengers, feeling completely unpunished (and they were). And to add spice, there was also blackmail and threats against other flight attendants. I experienced this, my colleagues experienced it, some gave up themselves, some lost their jobs because of their sabotage and neverending accusations.

Fortunately, I have left work in the airline where such situations have happened long time ago, and I've not met mobbing in person or heard any of my colleagues encounter such annoyances. The comforting fact is that these kind of situations are very rare and usually in airlines where the value system is simply unstable. Happily, most airlines respect both their employees as well as employees respect each other, the atmosphere is good and nothing bad is happening, and if any disruptive behavior occurs, it's definitely not ignored.

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There were some news, now it's time for some memories. Although spring is fully and summer is getting closer and closer... We are coming back to winter! Who loves this time of year above all others? I don't, unfortunately, but craziness in white fluff gives me as much joy as life-long lovers of cold winter months. This year's white time was definitely distinguished by the trip to Alps, so it's time for a few words about mountain craziness in snowflakes. Imagine that since I remember, I felt a fear of the mountains, sometimes even horrifying, which was caused by my eternal malaise, when I was approaching the mountain areas, I immediately suffered from migraines, nausea or dizziness. It happened literally since childhood, when as a little girl I "met" the mountains for the first time, what was always explained by a too radical change in pressure, intolerance of height and associated stress. Just hm... Something's wrong here. How can I suffer from intolerance to pressure and altitude changes when I work in aircraft on a daily basis? Can you imagine that? Stewardess, who spends a lot of hours on the plane almost every day, is afraid of malaise in the mountains, because "too high", and the aircraft flies several times higher than any mountains? Me neither. That is why I decided to break this irrational fear and finally go to the mountains. That's how I came across a few days in the Alps. At the beginning I was afraid that I could not deal with it, because in the end I avoided mountains like a fire, but... As it turned out, the devil is not so black as he is painted and in the end there was a lot of fun. Luckily, even the weather was good, because the sun was shining every day, the snow was clean, just the time to celebrate the victory over myself. In the end, not only did I break my eternal fear, it was the first time since I can't even remember when, that I tried to step on skis.

To this day I'm proud of myself that after so many years of weakness and fear, I managed to win this fight. This trip was one of my milestones, and by the way great fun in the enormity of snow, which I haven't really seen for a long time.

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Venice - a beautiful, unusually romantic place, just after the Roman Coloseum, one of the most recognizable places of Italy. The city of lovers, coming to mind with the tender moments of couples, floating in the famous Venetian gondolas on the Grand Canal, bathed in the rays of the setting sun. A perfect place for romantic walks for two, amid the atmospheric narrow streets and enjoying the best Italian food in the best restaurants overlooking the majestically floating boats.

I moved here a few months ago. For some, it's a surprise, others know from the very beginning, but now is the time to share it with all my readers.

The very fact of getting offer to move to Venice was a big surprise for me, because thinking in my standard categories, I would never suppose that I'd ever stay in Italy for more than a week on holiday, not to mention living there. Well, it happened. In life, and especially in life of the cabin crew, you should expect an unexpected, so here I am. Now I'm writing this post sitting on the stairs with a view of the Canale Grande, looking at all these tourists, whose faces are expressing delight and I wonder how big is the difference in our view of this place. The description at the beginning of the post sounds beautiful, right? However, does it really look like this from the backstage? Is living in this city on the water and its surroundings really so romantic, colorful and charming?

The answer is no. Yes, of course, the heart of Venice is a beautiful and climatic place, but living here every day, it looks completely different. Just a few weeks and a marvelous, fairytale land becomes a regular town, a place of life, work and survival. No wow effect anymore.

In fact, people who come for tourism purposes often forget that in addition to central Venice there are also other parts of it, much more crowded by local residents, where instead of the ancient houses growing out of the water stand skyscrapers, blocks, and even modern villa estates and apartment buildings. There are no souvenir shops at every step, no tourist information or crowds of souls looking for adventures and photos, and all the luck - the prices of everything you can buy are not as high as in Central Venice (read - the cost of buying anything, from bread to usable and ornamental objects, is on average four times lower than in a tourist paradise). What doesn't change the fact that here too the cost of living is exorbitantly high, but comparing the price to be paid to live at the good level in "floating" Venice to the one to be paid on land adjacent to it, you can get the impression that it is moving from the earth to heaven.

Expensive apartments, expensive houses, expensive food, expensive cars, expensive clothes, but at least ... Buses and trains free! I mean... Not free, but there is no such a thing as ticket control, so 99% of citizens don't acknowledge the existence of tickets, and yet they get everywhere without spending a cent, what is funny, but how much easier it's making our life, what also I am very grateful for. Fundamental elements of survival, about which tourists looking for souvenirs and good pictures, have no idea, because where from would they know it, are the reason why the viewpoint of the wanderer and the resident is so diametrically different.

To sum up, Venice is a beautiful city, a fabulous place, has this specific climate, however, it's sad that tourists only close in hotels, and later massively flood the streets of the historical center, when in order to really feel the soul of this city you have to go outside and get to know everyday habits and life of residents, people for whom this place is a home, not just a base for a few days stay. However, personally, I like to admire it from a bird's eye view the most.

That would be enough to start with, because a specific, more detailed post is going to be provided for the specificity of life in Venice and Italy in general.

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Okay. I was absent so long. Even longer than long, because from the beginning of January. A big piece of time, nothing to discuss. In all my blogger's career, a break from writing longer than this, happened to me only once. So it would be good to explain what happened because unusually much happened. Therefore, in short about the most important, because the post is not a book, and some things will be described in separate articles. What happened when I was gone?

I turned twenty!

Yes, the time has passed quickly, I don't know when, I was just a little girl, and now even the teenage years are over. Some of you still remember me as a beginning sixteen, and now it seems as distant as another galaxy. However happily, entering the twenties went joyfully, easy and doing what I love. Keep it up!

I changed my job!

As some of you know, last year I started a cabin crew career. It's been a profession that I dreamed about for a long time and without which I can't imagine my life today, but there is no progress without change, so it finally came to the turning point of changing boards and going to much better, more prestigious airlines. Time to get to know the new dimension of the sky!

I moved!

Some time ago I moved to Italy, to a place where in normal circumstances I would probably never have a chance to live, what also never came to my mind before that I would end up there one day. Where? About this in another post. And if that was not enough, I'm preparing to another move soon. Changes, changes and changes once again, fortunately - only positive.

More countries visited!

During those few months I managed to visit and see other European countries, but not only. From the cold, winter lands under the North Pole, through the moderate center, to the southern hot zone. Adventures and beautiful memories to the fullest, and the best of them I will share with you in the following days.

Now, after all these months of downtime, I found time to open my laptop, fill the gaps, and finally add something new to my internet corner. I hope that you will like the breath of a little bit of fresh air.

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I used to write about originality in everyday life, as a human, but if you are interested in this topic, I invite you to review previous posts, because today it's not gonna be about it.

Quite long-lasting observations made me openly refer to a concerning phenomenon that appeared in the blogosphere, concretely, to plagiarism. More and more often, I can see that on many blogs in a short period of time appear confusingly similar to each other posts, if not exactly identical. Meeting with something like that, I feel embarrassed, because to put it mildly, copying someone else's work is cheeky and rude. Apart from the fact that expropriating other person's intellectual property is a lousy thing and people who do it represent a really low level, plagiarism is primarily theft. The same as stealing something from a shop or a car from the parking lot. Theft is a theft, and a man who is divesting someone of something they have created on their own is an ordinary thief.

I myself was in a situation when a certain girl started a blog and rewrote actually all of my content, including my description of myself, and changing only the name for her own. Information about it came to me shortly after that person started spreading her website in social media, writing that she finally experienced a shot of creative inspiration and fulfills her dream of running her own blog... There were people who quickly caught the cheating delinquent, noting a shocking resemblance to the content on my site. It lasted few weeks, hundreds of versions of her explanations, that she only got inspired and didn't want to copy my texts (but she exactly did it word to word), luckily after several interventions her blog disappeared in the abyss of nothingness and didn't show up anymore and she received a stream of unfavorable opinions and bitter words from people who had read her "work".

So a few words to those who went through such a business, or just plan it... Think before you do this, because you won't achieve any success, and the theft of content created by someone else sooner or later comes to light, and your image, especially as bloggers, will be ruined, especially that intellectual property is protected by law and any violation of it, may result in more or less serious consequences, and rather nobody needs it, right?

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Some people from an early age grow up in the belief that they will sacrifice their lives to work on board the aircraft. Just feel that they are made for it, that they were born to fly and can't imagine following any other path than this one.

Others, at some point, realize that the job of a stewardess or steward simply interests them more than all other professions, they would like to try, but... They are afraid, don't know how, whether they are fit to that and what's the most important - where and how to start.

And how was it with me? What made me become a flight attendant? Did I know from the beginning that I wanted to work among clouds in the sky and followed my heart as long as I achieved it?

Well, no. Although since I remember, whenever I was on various occasions at the airport (and I traveled quite often), I stood by the window looking at the airplanes with admiration in my eyes, as if they were angels who just came down from the sky, being on board felt like in paradise, and additionally was a person who the structure and operation of almost all types of existing passenger aircraft in the world and the history of air accidents and disasters knows inside-out, I would never have thought before that I would fly, however not as a passenger, but as a cabin crew. And believe me or not, if anyone even a year ago told me that I will fulfill myself today, living literally in the sky, I would have laughed and told a man to go and see the doctor, because I think they're crazy. And yet, today I am, I'm flying, enjoying life and admire the view of the earth from a bird's eye view. So how did it happen that I decided to apply for recruitment to airlines? The story is simple and not too complicated, even quite light and a bit funny, because... To try my strength in the aviation, made me... Just one song! Yes, exactly like that, on a sunny day my headphones played a holiday (no, absolutely not Despacito, which I sincerely hate, and I know that for most of you it was the first picture of "holiday song" ) and suddenly in front of my eyes I had a vision of myself, walking through the airport in uniform and with a suitcase in my hand. Moment after that, a hurricane started to swirl in my mind, that maybe it is something for me, that maybe I should try, check myself, because I always liked to fly, actually I loved it a lot, but I didn't think about the stewardess profession, although I could. I had the good conditions, the passion, and yet never before such an idea appeared on my mind, even for a moment.

And so I started looking for the websites of various airlines in search of recruitment announcements for the cabin crew position, until finally I found something good for a beginner who has never worked in this field before, I sent my CV, soon afterwards to my great surprise I got an invitation to a multi-stage Assessment Day, which, as it turned out later, ended successfully for me and... This way with the e-mail notifying about the results of the recruitment process that came to me after eight long days of waiting and led to tears flowing from my eyes and making me cry like a baby - my flying adventure began, which very soon has become my way of life.

Some time ago I couldn't imagine myself as a flight attendant, today I can't imagine going through life by any other way than this air and winged one. Now aviation is a part of me, something that is my oxygen, my blood and propulsion. Flying is something that gives me power, what allows me to fly up and something about what I have serious plans for the future. Because my wings are just starting to spread.

As you can see, sometimes it's enough to take one impulse, one step to discover a calling of life.

It was just so short time ago when I was crawling in the Irish airlines, and now I'm in the process of changing the board for the one of much higher rank, and which airline has taken me under its wings? You will find out soon ✈️

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What does the blogger's life look like? Is it a fairy tale from unreal reality? Do they live like anyone else? Or is it simply tiring?

Those questions at first sight may seem insane. After all, a blogger is an ordinary person, the same as everyone who lives and breathes. And yet, I have heard these questions many many times in person, or I've read somewhere on internet forums.

So how does it really look like? Fairy tale? Ordinariness? Hassle? Is it continuous running in search of inspiration, new topics, information, places for photos? Or... As many people think, a blogger is a person who sits at home on the butt and does nothing at all, and once in a while, writes something on the laptop, throw it into the internet and that's all?

And the truth is, at least from my experience, it's neither one nor the other. There is no mad pursuit of finding a "good background" for photos, or ripping out the veins to find inspiration, even if forced, or sitting on the butt and doing nothing. There is calm, no pressure, if I have time and a good idea for a new text, I write it, and pictures... Do they always have to be done on the same day or week when the article is added? Of course not. If I followed the principle of "New post, fresh photo", I suspect that I wouldn't have ran a blog at all, especially combining it with work and family, I would only kill my mind with thinking where to go to "make a great photo today"... And yet having the own website isn't about turning it into obsession that becomes more important than all other matters. On my blog there are photos from different periods of time, one day I took it a day before adding to the blog, another month or even a year before, because I found them in the gallery and I liked them so much that I decided to publish them.

The same goes about inspiration, do I scrabble the depths of the Internet or meditate to find the inspiration? No. On the contrary, everything I write about here has a direct connection with my life, it's based on my personal experience and nothing is taken "from the air". In my planner, there is a list of dozens of topics, which I want to describe here and I know I will do it. Sometimes the idea comes under the impulse of the moment, sometimes it's saved in a notebook and waits weeks for me to find enough time to publish it, because on the contrary to what some people think, creating a blog posts doesn't take a few minutes, just sketching the Polish version takes a lot of time, then once more time to translate it into an alternative English version, so that every reader could understand, where all that needs to be put between the activities and duties of everyday life.

This is how the blogger's reality looks like. It's neither filled to the brim with black nor covered with brocade. Oh, the life of an ordinary man, not any fairy or magical creature who, apart from everyday life, still has a passion that doesn't give up despite adversity.

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