Writer Between Worlds

Soulful writing about humans and places

Category: Life

  • Mrs. T. is leaving the country

    I went back home for a few days, to the Romanian town where I was born, where I grew up, and where I spent the better part of my youth. I took a long nostalgic walk down memory lane, revisiting all those places that were the landmarks of my childhood years: the school, the school…

    Read more: Mrs. T. is leaving the country

  • Paper TV

    Have you noticed how there don’t seem to be any good children’s books anymore? Most of the time what you get is printed cartoons – extravagant colorful drawings accompanied by a maimed version of the text, an abridged, dry version, more like an abstract really than the actual story, re-written in the most inane and…

    Read more: Paper TV

  • All in a day’s work. A mother’s day

    Woke up at 6:46 a.m. from a bad dream. Stumbled into the bathroom, then into the kitchen to prepare my daughter’s baby formula. Did that, took care that it doesn’t get too cold. Then laid out the clothes I was going to wear for the day (clothes – what an euphemism for jeans and a…

    Read more: All in a day’s work. A mother’s day

  • Why some dreams are deaf

    What is the deal with making our dreams come true and all that bla-bla? Why do we always have to make our dreams come true? That is tremendous pressure. Why can’t they just stay dreams?  They’re more soothing that way. Dreams have a therapeutic quality that simply dissolves the minute they come true. The minute…

    Read more: Why some dreams are deaf

  • A society of egomaniacs?

    Some people think they’re unhappy because they don’t get to meet enough of their personal needs. I think we’re unhappy because we’re too damn focused on our personal needs. Focus on the other person for a change. Some people think they’re unhappy because they can’t satisfy their ego enough. I say we’re unhappy because we indulge…

    Read more: A society of egomaniacs?

  • … e viva Italia!

    The first thing that strikes you about Italy, coming from Germany, is the light. Italy has a whole new level of light. The moment you emerge from the Alps, you’re blinded. The colors look different, they’re mellow, and the air is a pleasant warm embrace in which you can float. Your heart lights up too,…

    Read more: … e viva Italia!

  • With a heavy heart – and body

    Ciao, we’re back. I didn’t want to come back. Had no choice. Italy seduces me every time, and one of these days I am going to cave in and move there. For good. Until then, if there’s one conclusion that can be drawn from our little Italian stint (apart from the fact that I ABSOLUTELY…

    Read more: With a heavy heart – and body

  • All packed?

    Yes, we’re finally going on vacation. I feel pretty safe making that information public because, even if somehow (God forbid!) thieves were to hit on our home while we’re away, there’d be nothing left for them to steal. We’ve packed it all. Seriously. Even the laptops, for the kids’ entertainment, toys, books, more food than…

    Read more: All packed?

  • Just an inkling

    Maybe that’s why young people everywhere are lured by all sorts of fundamentalist ideologies: They feel the same nostalgia for a simpler, clearer, more honest past. A straightforward past of black and white. That seems authentic to them. It’s important to relativize in order to protect basic rights and freedoms, but too much relativity, in…

    Read more: Just an inkling

  • Engines of the world

    I don’t know if this means I’m getting old or I have just been pushed into insanity by two sweet nagging children, but the world used to be so much quieter when I was little. The days seemed fuller, too, although I cannot imagine what we could have filled them with. No TV, no Internet,…

    Read more: Engines of the world

  • Penny-pincher extraordinaire

    Advertising has got to be the easiest profession on Earth in Germany. You start out with a comprehensive technical description of your product, and then you just add “BILLIG” ( CHEAP) in large, bold capitals on top of it. Or the “creative” version “SCHNÄPPCHEN” (BARGAIN).  Heck, you can sell any rotten fruit, any withered vegetable…

    Read more: Penny-pincher extraordinaire

  • Life is a cucumber salad

    I’m into natural beauty. I hear people are giving their daughters nose jobs for their 18th birthday. I love my daughter’s nose, and I’d much rather cut up anybody who comes near it. It is perfect just the way it is. Who would want a mass-produced Barbie for a daughter?!.. But that’s another story. This…

    Read more: Life is a cucumber salad