Thursday, October 4, 2007

my photos: spanish hillside

death of a house gecko

Just now I let the dogs outside before going to bed, I found them at the front door, excitedly pawing at something that I assumed was a big katydid or praying mantis that had been attracted to the porch light. When I looked closer it was a little house gecko. I picked it up to save it, but realized it was beyond repair, it's little belly was torn open and it's guts were exposed. In my disgust I flung it off the porch and came back in. I realized it was still alive, but had no chance of living. It would just lay out there until something came and ate it or it died of exposure or however tiny wounded lizards die. I was sad. I decided it would be kinder to put it out of its pain and kill it. I put on the headlamp and found it laying in the dirt where it landed, still alive. I crushed him with a hammer, hoping that would be the quickest most decisive death I could deliver. I buried him and came back in. I know some people would say I'm ridiculous, maybe even a lot of people, but it makes me sad to end even this small life.

new word: fika

Fika is a Swedish verb that roughly means "to take a coffee break".

Fika is a social institution in Sweden: it means taking a break from work or other activities and having a coffee with one's colleagues, friends, or family. This practice of taking a break for a coffee and a light snack (some biscuits, cookies, or a sandwich) between more substantial meals like lunch and dinner is central to Swedish life, Swedes being among the heaviest consumers of coffee in the world.

Since the word implies drinking coffee, just having a sandwich would not really be fika, although these days tea instead of coffee is becoming more frequent. In recent years, too, fika has also come to mean simply going to a café and having a coffee with someone, though this technically deviates from the strict "taking a break" meaning.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia