An 8th of March Story, tulips and pizza, or how gender inequality is right here

I do not recognize myself as a feminist, I have never been too passionate for women rights exactly and I do not find any of the sexes to be superior to the other.

This is a story for a large international outsourcing company. The team there provides business support on different levels and consists of 88 people.

17 of them are men and 71 are women.

There are two events today, on the International Women’s day, that bothered me deeply and for first time in one year I definitely feel out of place, failing to identify with the values of the people around me.

Number one is related to the common rituals for reinforcing the inequality between men and women. When we came to the office today, there was a tulip waiting for each woman on her desk. It seems that the men from the office have organized themselves, collected money and came up with the nice gesture.

And this is very kind, showing somehow an appreciation for all the women in the workforce. However, one hour later some women colleagues initiated an answer-gesture — something, I got to know later, was happening each year. So all the women at the office happen to collect money for buying pizza lunch for the men.

Now, what is not right here is the obvious inability of a woman to receive a gesture of appreciation of men without feeling obligated to answer back immediately. The message “I do not deserve your free appreciation” and I have to nurse you (feed you, as it is in most of the masculine dominated cultures) in exchange to your kindness.

A more proper celebration would be if we all collect money and by pizza for all the office. This is what I expected and when realizing the situation a bit later it was too late to make the proposal.

The second event is related to a very nice initiative we have at the office. Each Wednesday there is half an hour in which we see a short video and then discuss about it. The attendance is free. Me and one co-worker are taking care of the event.

Today she was busy, so I took the event in my hands and decided to show this TED talk by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, about the women in leadership. As I’d like to center the topic of the meeting around women in the workforce in general, we started with a discussion about payment, maternity leave and the Uber story which Susan Fowner shared couple of weeks ago.

I was astonished how most of the people where tending to decry such stories and talks, treating them as not important enough and clearly like sort of “feminism”. (Not even sure when the last word was assigned with the meaning of something you prefer not to be associated with.) All talks of inequality are labeled as “not applicable to our situation, as we do not have inequality here”.

What is more, discussions about women salaries and their maternity leave are not only avoided, when finally discussed most of the people are in favor of the business need. Of course, mind you, the business would like to know if you are a woman and you plan to have kids soon and then choose not to hire you as it is going to be generally a loss with your maternity leave.

One week back on the same event the topic was the Sugar Baby — Sugar Daddy platforms where young men and women are engaging in relations with old men and women. Most of the people also find this to be perfectly ok, justifying it with the market need.

Never in my life I’ve met so much carelessnes about important up to date society topics and values challanged through the business perspective.

The most astonishing for me was that girls share the same opinions. Women think they should not go further in their jobs if they plan/want to have babies before 30, women think it is normal a dress code to be mostly directed towards females as they have the mystic power of exciting the other sex by showing a toe, women giggle on topics related to women rights, and women prefer to neglect them.

To sum up, if we have the right to walk alone on the streets and to drive a car, what more do we want?

Ladies, please, stand up for yourselves. Go for what you want, dress how you like, negotiate your salary and be confident.

To all the people who think they should not care because women rights are not an issue for our comfort — think about if it wasn’t issue for anybody at all and your granddaughters choose not to vote, to be underpaid and are not allowed to drive, because this is for the gentlemen and they should not bother. The directions can change very easily.

Re-Use, Re-Sell, Share – Shedd

Maybe it is visible from some older posts of mine that I share a great passion against the modern absolute consumerism. It has converted into a regular lifestyle, constantly promoted and encouraged by all the media. What I despise is the message that one cannot live without this and that, that the only way of reaching comfort is by having more, buying more. Recently ZARA’s owner Amancio Ortega was declared the richest man in the world. What the publicity also knows him for are the scandals around his factories in Bangladesh. Smart response – the brand is launching its first “sustainable” line this fall.

We actually need so little for meeting our needs and the worst is when we start to create new needs on our own under the influence of mass media and peers. My response, at least in terms of clothes, is the Second Hand. It is far cheaper, it doesn’t encourage the over production and satisfies the consumer hunger in a challenging and positive way.

Recently on the Bulgarian app market appeared Shedd. Shedd is trying to keep up with the dynamics of the customers demands. And right now the customer likes to watch/write/chat/shop through its phone, just by a slight touch with the top of their finger. I am using the app for about a month now and I decided to share my general impressions of it.

• The app is for fashion only! This means no accidentally clicks on the wrong category and seeing interior-cleaning-car-kit when all you are looking for is shoes.
• Modern search engine based on the #hashtags. Now, this leads to some confusions because there always will be people #who #write #all #the #words #in #a #sentence #with #hashtags, but miss the real point. My personal experience with the search though, is quite positive. Using a bit general tags instead of super concrete usually shows options which wouldn’t appear the other way. For instance, if I am looking for big black bag, I would try to search with #bag and #black. But lets go back on the shoes. If you one wears size 36, there two possibilities: #size36 and #36size. The search in this case should happen separately for each version, because the hashtags are additional. If you type both, you will not receive separate results, you will receive results for ads which contain #size36+#36size.
• In addition, something useful would be a search option for users – I felt the lack of it couple of times.
• Shedd doesn’t offer any type of user rating or feedback at the moment. Also, if you make a deal with another user, it is not reflected in any way. This is absolutely raising the risk for both sides – the seller and the buyer – and in some cases for the platform itself. I rather expect that this is going to be changed soon, even more because the responsibility in case of fraud is not to be taken from anyone in the current circumstances.
• At the moment a published ad contains only one photo! Even though this can be seen as disadvantage as well, I rather consider it a great plus and hope the developers are not going to change it. This stimulates the creativity of the users (you have only one shot to show your item is the best!) and encourage messaging, which on the other hand encourages the sell-buy process.
• Only one ad per item is allowed. Technically, there is an algorithm which detects if a user tries to upload the same photo of the same product second time. Practically, people just make different photo and upload the same item multiple times.
• Encouraging small businesses to use the platform is something I really like. What I don’t like is that at the same time emphasis is putted on the big brands using it as a synonym of quality. For instance I received a tech message telling me that users are looking for #calvinklein, #zara, etc. and I should sell this kind of item. I find this controversial in marketing sense as well.
• Naturally, the space in Shedd is largely predominated by women. However, men fashion can be found with some dedicated search.
• Not new for the field of second hand platforms – the location services are added so one can have an idea for the distances. (Still for full utilization of this feature a search option is needed.)
• The application is still under development and few bugs occasionally appear. Some private text messages are not visible/not received, as well as the algorithms fail from time to time. I received a message with offer to upload items when I already had few listed in my profile.
• The support is absolutely marvelous! A couple of times I exchanged few words with them and the communication was smart (!), on time and very kind. 🙂

In conclusion I will share some of the application background. My internet investigation unraveled to me that Shedd was firstly developed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project is closely associated with Dubizzle, largely known in Middle East and Eastern Europe as OLX. You can read more about this here. This also helped me to understand the brand promotion – the application was originally created with this idea.

Except for UAE, I managed to discover one more country where Shedd is active and goes in direct competition with the giant eBay – Australia. Some characteristics there are that deal is possible only through Pay Pal, or face-to-face. In comparison we have far more options as the negotiation is absolutely private and not any payment is managed or canalized through the app. More about the Australian version you can read here.

I believe in the great potential of this application which already started to demonstrate itself. The future is in sharing, ladies and gentlemen, so go on, re-use, re-sell and help humanity to safe itself with your own everyday choices.

Black Protest or the right to choose

During my year in Poland I knew I have some of the best time in my life. I was happy with the culture, with the language (!), with my friends and with my job. It will sound trivial, but what I was not happy with, was the politics. And what all this bad politics reflected into the society and vice versa for forming a vicious circle which is on the way to strangle the anyway fragile democratic values in this country.

I am not even going to count all the times when we were close to physical violence because my boyfriend has a darker skin and is visibly a foreigner.

I am not going to tell you how a Muslim friend had to yell “I am Christian” to avoid violence.

I am not even going to give you the devastating story of how one can get a fast contraceptive pill in Polish pharmacies. I am not going to describe the amount of money for getting the receipt, how only one of 10 pharmacies has it and all the giggling around.

I am not going to give you the story how getting pregnant without being married means full and absolute eviction from the family.

What I am going to do is to ask you to use one of your basic everyday rights as humans in a free country. I ask you to choose.

Choose to support the right for choosing of Polish women, men and families. Choose to care for this assault on human dignity. Inform yourself, don’t be careless. If you are in Poland, go to the streets. If you are not, share. Show solidarity and compassion, because living under laws restricting your own freedom is the first step to quitting of humanity.

Let’s not repeat history, let’s go forward and not let the retrograde bill of fully forbidding abortion pass into Polish parliament.

More info for the events and supportive pages and petitions: https://www.facebook.com/events/1659773451018196/

 

In search of the dream job: five clues this is not for me

It seems that the job challenges are not finishing with finding the job. This occurs mainly because the work doesn’t cover the initial expectations, some disappointment from the place/position appeared, or, said in non-diplomatic language, one discover that the job, the place and the people are not nice. In another article I plan to outline how this occurred in my case and why, as I am sure there will be some curiosity about the never-ending post-communistic transition Bulgarian business perspectives are in.

Now, as I am looking for a new opportunities, I start to be more clear what I want, what I need and where to look for it. It is not efficient to apply for everything, these are not the Olympic games. It is my time, efforts and future I invest in, hence there is nothing bad of being a bit picky and prioritize. This is what I encountered in the process of applying.

1. If the company has double standards for the nationality of its employees, it is not for me.

I was very enthusiastic to go to two interviews with a big international company. The position was somewhat routine and administrative but I was ready to compromise because of the young and nice team and the nice salary I was expecting. The company is really big, operating worldwide and I cannot say my expectations were unrealistic. However, at the end they offer me a salary twice lower than the salaries of other foreign people in the company. I do take into account that we speak for different departments here but a little farther research showed that this is obviously company politics. They offer in general lower remuneration to Bulgarian employees. Why is that? Because anyway at the end they will find a Bulgarian who will agree to do the work out of desperation? No, thanks, this is not fair on many levels and I don’t want to be part of it.

2. If the company/organization absolutely refuse to read my CV in English, it is not for me.

My logic is very simple. If they do not want to see my CV in English in any case, these rather means that my touch as employee with internationality and possibly, multiculturalism, is rather not existing. There is nothing bad in this, it is just not my cup of tea. I feel so out of the local box, I like to be in touch with different people, use different languages, that I just cannot go back in that box and lock myself.

3. If the management doesn’t show any appreciation for me as a human being, it is not for me.

A job interview is both sided process. Anybody who behaves like it isn’t, is not showing understanding that the future employee is also human being. As applicant I also have my needs and as a human being I prefer to see another human being in front of me. We are here to do work, of course, but this doesn’t mean we cannot have good positive communication and show some understanding. I work for your company/organization, not for you only. One friend is saying something which sums up pretty well: “I work for living, I don’t live for working”.

4. If I cannot develop my self and learn new things, it is not for me.

Of course I like to know what I am doing and to do it well. It is just that staying for too long on one stage, not updating any knowledge or developing new skills still is not option for me. I got discouraged, highly demotivated and bored.

5. If I cannot be useful with my skills, it is not for me.

Routine, monotonous work is something I really don’t mind from time to time. It can be very relaxing and not stressful. However, if one doesn’t have the conditions for reaching his full potential from time to time, this again leads to frustration. There is nothing worse than the feeling that you can do more, you can do better, you have ideas, but… nobody want it from you! This is really basic refusal of personal satisfaction that each person should be able to experience in his everyday life. A position which will match my own competences is bringing the good feeling of something well done at the end of the day.

I am a believer and I know the dream job exists. This is the job that will bring me enough challenges and satisfaction, where I can contribute and which makes some social impact.

Happy (New Year)

Inevitably, I was thinking about the past year, the last bucket list, should I do new one, what I learned, what goals should I set up, etc. The more I was thinking, the more the answer was escaping from me and we finished like in a circle – I felt it is somewhere around but wasn’t sure if I am running after it, or I am the one being chased. New Year’s Resolution pressure.

The answer came very naturally in the first hours of 2016. I spent the evening with close friends and after we had proper dinner, we went to one of the most popular clubs in Sofia – “Terminal 1”. Two bands were playing last night. They do mostly covers of popular rock bands with a touch of one or two pieces on their own. One of the bands was with the singer Raja. I met this girl on one of her, I believe, very first live performances three years ago. Back then she was doing songs comfortable for her deep low voice and the musician friend I was with said that he is still not sure about her (talent/ proficiency?). I remember we exchanged few words and she said she started to play a guitar just month or two ago. Month or two and already on a stage? If this is not brave, then what?

Anyway, yesterday the performance was from another level. It was professional and complex, a performance by real young musician. The progress Raja had with her voice, her playing and even with her presence on the stage made me think about the time. She achieved so much for three years, I am sure with lots of hard work and proper support. On a contrary, very close person of mine told me that he is on a “phase”, on a “step” of his road towards skills and personality (and fighting with anxiety) already for ten years. Even if it sounds abstract, the parallel I make here is between the goals we set and how we tend to measure them with time.

What time brings to us in this case? Maybe one makes a step or learn a skill for one month, maybe other person does it for three years and other for ten. For one month on a guitar I learned how to do two chords but I mastered some quite good knitting skills for a week. I fulfilled on a half my last year list. And I don’t feel like I am late, I don’t feel the need of a new list and I just look forward for a continuation and slight update.

Not that we are timeless, we are very clearly limited by our mortal life, but outside of this all other frames we alone put to ourselves. And the answer it is not in the time cycles, we shouldn’t identify ourselves through them. You are not what you did in 2015, or what you plan to do in 2016. You are, to some extent, what you are doing now. You are you. So, again it seems more important to answer these questions:

Who am I?

What is most valuable for me?

What I want?

And then the time is not source of anxiety and pressure anymore. So my wish to everybody is to get free of time, be thankful, happy, patient with yourself and simply be.

There is one saying I heard few days ago. When a person is healthy, he has many problems. When is sick, he has only one problem. So may all of us have these many problems together with our health. All else comes into place sooner or later.

Thank you all, beautiful people.

Fear fight

Within the past years a new personal issue grows within me. I have fear sometimes to go on the street because of the things that can happen, I am terribly afraid of skin heads and hate crimes – many of my friends and closest people are from different religions than Catholicism, different skin color and various genders.

In my job during the past year I got familiar with so many massacres, genocides, modern day slaveries and all performed under the nose of the everyday regular clerk in the Modern world, in Europe. Schell company and its gas flaring in Nigeria causes major harm not only to the land but also to the local community where people are being poisoned for decades. Palm Oil destroys thousands of acres of natural plants and trees, mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia, for planting palms – affecting irreversibly the flora and fauna. I am not even going to talk about Nestle and Monsanto – we almost don’t know everyday food without the touch of one of them. I am not even going to discuss what amount of deaths, destroyed health and lives and slavery are still involved in the production of coffee, cotton, sugar, electronic devices, Christmas gifts and other things all around – things we don’t think about, don’t reflect on, take for granted. Because it is on the other part of the world, far away, we cannot see it, smell it, feel it, so we neglect it. And what about Latin America which is still in the grip of corruption and narco bosses, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya where people are still afraid to go on the streets because of the civil wars – consequence of the western (de)colonization?

I do see everything connected not in a conspiracy theory but in the direction that we as a human kind are moving into.

The dead of 150 people is something that indeed happens everyday. I see it, I realize it. Here is why I think the Paris attacks matter so much:

• Paris is a symbol, a centre of culture established as democratic and humanistic, example in the development of the modern world. The fact that terroristic organization dares to attack it openly, no matter with what reasons and what effect, should ring a bell for the whole world. It is not the same as the attack in Beirut not because some human lives value more than others, but because of the message the act transmits.
• We should think more about why and what was the purpose. What are these 150 lives bringing to ISIS? In my opinion, they bring panic, they close borders, they raise hatred and fear. “Divide and rule” is quite old military tactic. I don’t even want to imagine the comfort and ease for the extremists if EU send back refugees or close borders.

What I think should be done/ how should we, as a community react:

• No acts driven by panic, fear, or hate. More than ever we should stay next to each other as human beings because this is what define all of us most of all. Don’t close your hearts, don’t close your homes and borders.
• Inform yourself, think out of the box and don’t do fast judgement. Don’t let yourself at the stream of mainstream media.
• Show compassion. To Paris, to Lebanon, to all Muslim people whose religion is tried to be disgraced and blackened.
• Think peace, act peace, be peace.

I am terrified from what happened yesterday in Paris which is closer to me now than my own city of origin. I don’t care more because it is closer, I am more afraid because it is closer. But I won’t allow to this fear to dictate my movement – the same way I continue walking in dark central Sofia streets on the way to the pub with my dark-skinned and queer friends. Stay brave, consume local, approach to each person as he is unique, fight evil with more art, color Facebook profile photo with the French flag, share #notinmyname – these are things that we can all do.

Illustration by Herve Baudry

Looking for a job in Barcelona: General Impressions

Edit: I fought with the major frustration and to keep the article positive. I think I failed, but anyway if a person cannot be drama in its own blog, where then…

I am great supporter of the idea that there is always a job. Finding it depends on two things: how you look for one; do you have somehow objective view between self competences and the desired position. As I have some experience on hunting at the job market, I believe I did quite good my homework. I researched the market; focused on relevant for me and desired positions; updated my curriculum according to the particular cultural and area requirements; even visited some additional courses about the whole process of application and advertising yourself. I did and I do networking.

My gaze stares at entry levels job positions or internships mainly in marketing departments of international companies but I don’t limit myself with this. I apply also for HR departments, customer service and everything else relevant to my experience and competences. Here are my basic impressions.

• Defining the candidate by its social status.

All these fairy tales how a big boss or investor believed in an amazingly smart out-of-money, almost living on the street young lad, are not up to date for Europe 2015. Nowadays this lad has to start its CV with his address, or at least the post code, because the employer would like to know where are you coming from. Kind of justified one – they also need to know how much time you need to travel to the work place. My point – what if I cannot afford to live in a more socially accepted neighbourhood and I have to take the half prize room in the Arabic ghetto? What if I need the job for moving out of there? What is more, major advice by recruiters in Barcelona is to put photo on your CV. A detail that in some labour markets is considered to be a basis of discrimination.

• Defining the candidate by nationality instead of by skill.

The English speaking jobs obviously are with the growing tendency to be offered only to native speakers – mainly from UK, US and Canada. Sorry, Australians, New Zealanders and other countries with English as major language – you are not on the top of the list, as well. When submitting a resume, the first, sometimes the only question, is “Are you born in UK/US?”. Cheers to all these natives who are not even able to spell their own namers, but they would get an interview for such an job offer. You want to be a nanny, a housekeeper, CS agent, intern – you cannot, if your mother gave birth to you outside of UK/US.

• The required qualification for a full time job position and an internships are predominantly the same.

Do you speak fluently five languages, you are proficient in MS Office and Photoshop and have excellent knowledge of SAP with 2 years experience in the respective field? Congratulations, you can apply for an internship. But only if you can sign a 6-month agreement with your university (By the way – thanks, EU). I am not gonna comment more here. Some things are just farcical.

The situation

The official data for October 2015 published by Spanish Labour ministry marks its highest increase since February 2013. With rate of 22.3 % the country is one of the most affected by unemployment in the Eurozone. Although Catalonia is managing better than some south regions, the problem stays here, too. How the regular job-seeker feels? Frustrated. Especially for recently graduated and excited finally to put knowledge into practise individuals, it is frustrating. Some of my friends and acquaintances need more than 6 month before finding any kind of job and more than year for finding something in the relevant for them field. The municipality organizes great encouraging free classes in different areas but are the working places multiplying because of it? For me the things look even less colourless. The languages I speak seem to be not of an value, neither is my more than 2 years experience in NGO sector. And as an Eastern Europe citizen, who doesn’t speak the highly appreciated here Russian, I feel like a second hand candidate. I started to wonder if now, after graduating and gathering experience in “my” fields, is going to be my first time in the area of non-qualified labour. At the end of the month, being helpful and developing new skills is what I want the most together with my salary. I am not afraid of work, so, Barcelona, what I can do for you?

Five reasons why I want to have social life (again)

Being a quiet, always on your own road, person caries its magic but as everything else in the world it requires some balance. Without realizing at all I killed my social live with terrible excuses like “I’m not into parties”, “I have other things to do, next time maybe” and “I prefer to stay at home”. For more than four months I was so concentrated on my own movement through the life that I forgot this movement is within people as well. Trying not to force myself of going out only unleashed my other, obviously introvert side, and I sincerely didn’t want to meet these people, go to nice events or simply enjoy the good weather with a walk and chatting in the park.

Yesterday I broke this circle and even though it was raining, it was late and I felt tired, I went to the concert of Michael Nyman – one of the last fabulous events of Malta Festival in Poznań. Apart of the epic feeling created by the classic music widespread above the dark Malta Lake, I experienced an internal enlightenment about why I used to have social life and how I missed it recently.

• Staying on one place or all alone for too long is not good for my mental health.

To stay focused on my inner self, to listen, understand and develop as human are my constant and preferred ways in life. Unfortunately, I got dizzy of wandering within my own consciousness. It become my own cage instead of freedom point. Like the room of Marco Fogg in Paul Auster’s “Moon Palace”, I observed myself, stared in my mind and soul, and decided that I don’t need more. The idea of more was fading away. And here it is where the communication and other people come in hand. All we fear, all we need and want is a projection into the people we communicate and relate with. If you want to understand better yourself, you need other people to define your own situations. Socializing is what we know from our birth and cannot avoid it later.

• Meeting & connecting with people is essential for building friendships and being useful in the society.

As I pointed out already, we are social animals and we simply need to feel the presence of the others around. Sharing old experiences and new moments are the most helpful tool for being happy and connecting with people who later can even be my friends. It is not about the need always to see a new acquaintance this way, it is the idea that I can learn something from every human being. If I can give something in exchange, than I consider the interaction absolutely successful! I met a great girl from Warsaw last night who also studied sociology and it was nice and interesting to have a chat about how she had the same doubts about managing life as me right now. Simple but helpful and calming.

• I want to give a chance to serendipity.

Honestly, what’s the chance to meet the love of your life, your future boss to offer you a dream-job in the dream-startup company or to find a black&white umbrella with cats in the night bus when it’s raining, if you don’t go out? Yes, quite low. I want to give chance to serendipity to take place in my life which means that I cannot be passive or lazy. There is time for rest and dating yourself and there is time for being active and go outside to explore all the miracles that the world want to show you today. Or tonight. I am master of my own life and I do take care by allowing the chance and coincidence happen now and then. Because who knows who I will meet at this event or what I will find on the way…

• Meet art. Enjoy art.

This is so simple and I forgot it. I forgot how I adore theatre, live music, modern art, graffiti and any form of inner aesthetic expression or civil action. I am not particularly fan of classic music, I enjoy some classics now and then and Michael Nyman was a new name for me. But even better! To discover and enjoy something new, to feed this hunger of your senses that cannot be indulged with Game Of Thrones or any other series… this means to meet art. And art is not happening at home on the screen of my laptop, maybe sometime shows and inform like a channel, but is not happening. I am from the people who believe that art is communication between an author and audience (even when the author says there is nothing to be communicated with the audience) and I am always honoured, happy and interested to be part from this audience and to try to read the message. Thank you creators for sharing, I take my part from here and come to see you, listen to you, taste and smell you and hopefully – to feel you.

• Kill anxiety – interact.

It happens that on this concert we were in the VIP section. Nothing to special, just few free drinks, red bracelet and very famous people around. The point is that for me these people are not familiar to me – I don’t go to Polish theatre, don’t watch Polish TV and certainly I am away of the high-life stars. My friends saw a very popular actor. One of them said “I can think of only one or two more so famous people in Poland right now”. This actor just had a premier of his self directed opera based on “The magic mountain” by Thomas Mann. So, we talk about some serious stuff here, right? And this doesn’t change the fact that I have never seen this man before, right? Then why I get so anxious when other friend asked me to take a photo of him and this actor? It shouldn’t be an issue for this guy, simple question, politely asked in almost correct Polish… But I got nervous, I blushed and I had my body stiff. I went with my friend and I took the photo as I also got mad on my first reaction. I realized that in general the lack of interaction with people makes you forget how to do it and more importantly, what it feels like. I got nervous, so what? Why I need to get double anxiety about a situation? How I will learn to deal with the first wave of anxiety? How I will feel comfortable enough within people? There is only one answer – by practising interaction. Learning by doing is my philosophy here as well.

Being social is not compulsory and certainly cannot answer all the needs of a self. But it is part of the human processes, therefore important element of one’s own development. In the end, it is all about balance – how many friends you will keep close, how many exhibitions you will visit this week and how much time you will spend on meditation.

ÜБерлин

Меркурий е ретрограден,
но не колкото Берлин
с неговите ръждясали релси на ринга,
окислени от имигранти,
и дрънчене

на турски, български, гръцки, полски,
арабски,
но само не и немски.

Там дюнерът е като вкъщи
и жената на продавача в магазина за алкохол
е от Хасково,
бащата на каучсърфинг хоста
е от Румъния,
сателитната чиния на отсрещния блок
е от виваком.

китарата в метрото
е испанска,
студентът на съседната маса
италианец.

да пре-местиш дома си в берлинската джунгла?

надежда за територия
на скъп живот и евтино вино

за да може да се удавиш

от където и да си.

Моят Меркурий се разгражда в Берлин,
съвсем не толкова ретро,
колкото е трабанта пред блока,
но с малко повече арт,
по стените на Изтока си.

Берлин, януари 2015

Време на 78%

Но не му е сега времето.

Сега има време за дишане.