The trip to Riga

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This weekend I went to Riga with my sister Camilla. The reason we went there is related to both our big projects (secret still to some, but some of you know what I mean).

I did like some aspects of Riga even though the whole town had a distinctive and a rather bad smell.

Riga is filled with beautiful and interesting houses and buildings in the Art Nouveau style, a type of architecture I love. Sadly, many of the buildings show sign of decay and I almost felt sorry for the once impressive creations. I really wish that the people of Riga will have time to repair them before it’s too late.

The internet shouldn’t be a big part of a trip, but in a way, to me, it is. It’s a way to keep in touch with family and friends. Before the trip I had read up on the ship we’d travel on and it promised wifi on all decks. In reality though, it was only available in small areas of the ship. One of those areas was at the end of the corridor that was outside our cabin in the room that leads out to the deck and down and up to the deck above and below.

In the evening on the trip back, when Camilla had gone to get some rest, I went out to that room and phoned my mum, through Facetime, to say goodnight. Because the connection was bad I had to stay there for a while and the later in the evening, the creepier it got. Apart from two girls with attached boyfriends everyone present were men. I don’t know where they came from. During the day, most of the people looked ok, but in the evening guys with a criminal look arrived. They undressed me with their eyes, one group walked almost too close to me and said something I didn’t understand and laughed unpleasantly.

When one of the girls was going down the stairs to the clubs, a group of men heading for the lifts stopped and made sexual gestures close to her back. All of this actually made me scared and I went back to the cabin as soon as I could.

I then tried to buy internet time from my phone provider and I got a text message confirming sale, but I wasn’t able to use it at all. Fortunately I got a refund when I got home.

Now I’m just happy to be home again and the wait has started. It will be a long wait, but I hope I’ll be rewarded with a successful result. Wish me luck :).

Virtual poetry reading

Last night, my sister, my mum and I went to a virtual poetry reading. The guy that was reading, his and works of others, is the multi talented Russell Taylor Ashby – Russell Eponym in Second Life and other virtual worlds. He’s a poet, artist and musician with a beautiful voice. Perhaps I wasn’t as happy about his selection of poetry as I am with his music, but it was still a very nice experience.