MicroLandscapes

This text is a post-publication add-on. As I explained my friend Marco, in these days I can't do any better. Time is very short: mostly absorbed by work, the rest by my family. In such conditions even a weird eggs-box can be a source of inspiration. And it's nice to see how my mobile doesn't fail with macros.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Peppone e Don Camillo

When I (or as I'd better say "we") opted for the biggest change made in our lives, I was pretty sure that my personal work-family balance would have benefit, thanks to more than one reason. Commuting to work in Milan took me circa two hours and a half per day, whereas here I don't spend more than half an hour. When I was lucky, on the Italian means of transport I could read, entertain myself talking with someone of my circle or even sleep. In the bad days, instead, I could only hang my arm on a handrail and try to keep myself upright, while pressed among hundreds of other passengers. In Graz, thanks to the location I found for our apartment, I put my buttocks on the car and drive for eight kilometers until I'm under the window of my office.

Alas, what I hadn't calculated is that the chip-makers life is a bit tougher than the chip-consumer's. Now I'm working for those who used to be my former components providers. Before I just had to pick a component from a virtual shelf and use it, now we have to run like hell in order to give our customers the best in class products and keep the competition much behind. I'm not saying that the telecom system developer's life is much more relaxed: it's just that there are different kind of challenges, a wider and smoother distribution of responsibilities and consequently a lighter felling of urge.

I don't complain about this last point. I've spent my last ten years complaining and listening complaints about useless managers and those who could easily hide themselves in the shadows of our organization and live on others' shoulders. On this other side of the world it seems there's no shadow, no twilight. You can't hide, neither you can take long breaks and breathe. No alternation of rest and diet seasons, in other words you have to be always fit and ready to perform. Which is good, thrilling and in most of the cases exciting.

The only drawback is that those two hours that I wished to have on my side, now that we're approaching the delivery time, just before Christmas, are being consumed "walking the extra-mile". As a result, in the last months I haven't been able to do all the sport activity and photo shooting that I was wishing. I started using massively my mobile phone to capture, edit and send pictures from the most inconvenient and uncomfortable places, photographically speaking, like bus stops, parking lots, rest areas on the highway or from the cozy seat of a tram, while taking my daughter to school.

In these conditions quality is no longer a reasonable target. It helps to improve your pictures, for sure but it doesn't help at all at looking at the world. I have to be happy of the immediacy that technology provides and keep my sense of "hunting" always fit, for better times.

🔻

So, this morning while walking quickly by this long and narrow square behind the central Franziskaner abbey, my eyes fell on the name of two restaurants, presumably lead by Italians, facing on both ends of it and I couldn't wait for better times and better light conditions before taking a picture. Chances are that I would never find the time again.

For those who have never heard about Don Camillo e Peppone, here are a couple of helpful Wiki-pages about Don Camillo and his author Giovannino Guareschi.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

A view from the tram

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Cool

A strong and chilling northern wind has come over us during the day. The grey sky that we had until yesterday was swept away during the night. Bright light, barren trees, woolen hats. They say tomorrow it's going to be even colder than today. I'll finally feel by myself what it means to be at the feet of the Alps. I'm ready, my gears as well.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Different perspectives

Some prefer to look at the tips of their feet while others are always shooting at the stars.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Arrivederci

Driving back to Austria after a short stay in our family town. The longer the distance the coarser our sight. No time for taking many pictures. Maybe a better chance next time. Aufwiedersehen.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Tono su tono

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Old Gears

Eventually, about two months after my relocation, I managed to have two hours to dedicate to myself and take a ride on top of the hill behind our new apartment. And there, on top of the mountain, I found this rusting bicycle with an amazing front lamp I couldn't leave out of my records.

(Made and sent from my mobile)

Rebel

In every group of living beings there's always someone who turns his back to the mass, a divergent, a rebel, someone who seeks light looking in a different direction. This happens beyond every logic, as if some kind of natural principle ruled behind this generation of variants. The mass, all those who comply to the rules are just the evidence of the affirmation of a series of these mutations that grant the evolution of the species. The mass does not evolve. Variants, on the other end, succumb in largest majority of the cases. Few only succeed and are the cause of changes in the coming generations. This is why we have to have the bravery, the pride and the courage to make changes.

Late Crop

There's not only pumpkin seeds oil, then, around here. Winter is approaching quickly but still the meadows close to the city are ripe with goods to harvest.

(Made and sent from my mobile)