...fucking WHAT is headed towards Earth right now ?!

It is 7 p.m., 7th of november as I'm writing this editorial, and I just got back from the mall. I needed to run some errands there, and stopped by for dinner at the food court. They gave me quite the portion (as my mum would say "enough for a lumberjack"), so I asked to have some of it packed for home. I pretty much went home right after, and when I saw myself in the elevator mirror in the building I live in, I noticed a spot of sauce sitting right on the tip of my nose. Typical.
I know that it's like a trend nowadays to tell people with huge noses that they're "interesting" or whatever, but this is the harsh reality of living with one. Never have I ever eaten a meal with a bigger ammount of sauce that I didn't accidentally dip my toucan ass nose into.
I am used to it, ofcourse, and for the record, I do not think people with similar or same noses are ugly. I'm just saying that it's very obvious when someone's trying to make you feel better about it, without you asking for it in the first place.
Apart from all of that, the mall stuff wasn't something to rush about - I could have stayed home all day today if I so wished. But I very much needed to get away from my place, as for the entire day I have been primarily doing one thing and one thing only - internet research about a really weird comet by the name 3I/ATLAS that is currently flying through space, behaving like a lazily disguised mothership. No joke, look it up.
The fact that I even know about this is pure coincidence - as I rarely check internet news articles that just come up by themselves. But as soon as I saw "interstellar visitor" and "strange", or whatever it was, popping up one random day, I could not resist.
Now, only my parents probably know this, but I am quite creeped out and also morbidly fascinated by anything to do with aliens. Documentaries, UFO videos, theories and possible historical evidence of them just kind of being around for a very long time...
I remember not being able to sleep when I was around 11, because I got a hold of some of my dad's Erich Von Däniken books and just binge-read them all in like two weeks without him knowing, and then going to the library to find more...I remember being about the same age and wondering if the weird paths in the field behind our home (made by fucking tractors) were crop circles...
I never was definitive about anything I have read or watched, never really accepted anything as undeniable truth. Yet, the possibility of some of it, or maybe even all of it being real was something I just always liked to think about...while also hating how it makes me feel. Anxious, unsure.
I saw a good comment on one of the posts I was reading about the topic, saying something along the lines of us, humans, being the hostile ones. Very good take, since humanity is proving more and more each passing year to be the biggest threat to itself. Still, the hollywood movies, the books, the games, the stories, none of it ever gave me an impression of aliens being these eternally loving, peaceful, sexy beings just wanting to spread knowledge, love and save us from ourselves (apart from maybe the Universe People - go ahead and check their website, it's really...something - and some weird fucking hentai). But, I mean..until anything actually happens, I can dream.

It is a dark, rainy tuesday morning and I just woke up to the beautiful sounds of noise pollution spreading out all over Petržalka. I wanted to take a couple of minutes, before I have to get up and do stuff, to just write the intro for this article (awww, look at her defending not being at work on a tuesday morning!), if I can even call it that. If I can call any of these, within this November issue, articles. If I had to pick a winter month I really am not a fan of, it would definitely be this one. The weather gets significantly colder, the pretty colours of autumn are mostly gone, no kind of holiday magic happening in the air apart from the anticipation of Christmas, which to me feels more like trying to be excited about a colonoscopy.
Plus, I always get sick.
Other than that it's just work, work, work - yes, I know I said it's a tuesday and I'm here, hobbying away, but don't you worry - I'll be working again since thursday, throughout both weekends, and somehow am expected to play 5 concerts in 3 days without having a mental breakdown. Such is life.
The paradox of all of this is that my winter playlists are always the most diverse and action-packed. Apart from maybe the big summer ones. To be clear, I really like to make seasonal playlists. I include songs I genuinely get into at the time, plus random songs playing during moments in my life that I want to somehow "save" in my mind, to cherish, to not lose them...songs I hear in the taxi on my way somewhere significant, songs that play on the radio when I'm hanging out with a good friend that I haven't seen in a long time, songs I randomly hear outside that remind me of my current life situation, or songs I sing with my cousins when we get together and drink some. And so, my life becomes a bit of a musical. I love that.
Now, I'd like to share the November part of my playlist with you and talk a little bit about some of the songs and artists you'll find on there, because I think they're cool!
Enjoy.

THE PLAYLIST :

The Doors - Roadhouse Blues
Type O Negative - My Grilfriend's Girlfriend
Herbie Hancock - Textures
Jeff Beck - Come Dancing
Pink Floyd - Childhood's End
Frank Zappa, The Mothers - I'm the Slime
Frank Zappa - Trouble Everyday
Frank Zappa - Sexual Harrasment in the Workplace
John Frusciante - God
Liferuiner - Suck My Dick
Silk - Freak Me
Mavi Phoenix - Mr. Nice Guy -_-
Pantera - Domination
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Pantera - A New Level
The Prodigy - Nasty
BETWEEN FRIENDS - JAM!
Megadeth - Tornado of Souls
Ours - Sometimes
Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone

The weather fucking SUCKED today, and I absolutely mean the all caps - bold - italic when I write it like that. Usually, I quite like rainy days, but as Noel Gallagher once said : "When it's cold, it's alright, when it's raining, it's alright, but when it's cold and raining...that's fucking rubbish."
I performed at a cabaret last saturday, and I had a pretty good time. And as it always happens when I have a good time, I tend to forget about 90% of the things I brought with me to the venue...
...actually, it happens when I don't enjoy myself as well, since everytime I leave work, I have to return back to the tuning room about 3 times - once for keys, once for wallet, once for my charger.
So I got in touch with the owner of the venue and he said I can come pick it up today. I went there, picked my stuff up, and while doing so, I put my (very broken) umbrella on the floor there somewhere...I thanked the staff, and got on my way. I got to the tram stop, and realised I left the fucking umbrella inside. I just kind of realised that I'm somehow getting more wet than before, that's how functional my brain is today. Since it was only dribbling at that point, I decided to let it be, the umbrella was way past its prime anyway, and I had another good one at work...
That was until I got off the tram, not very close to my place still, and it started fucking pouring. I ran through a whole park, emptying my hardest-hitting swear word bank into the aether, my "waterproof" tennis shoes getting very water-full.
I ran into a mall, bought another fucking umbrella, and finally got on my way home.
At home, I took my shoes off and realised that I'm leaving bloody puddles across the damn floor. I took my right sock off and my foot looked like fresh fucking produce at the butcher's shop. I felt no pain though. After a thorough analysis, I found out that I cut my nail in such a way that it's cut its way into the nearest finger, and that, dear readers, was the cherry on the wet, muddy cake on this very fucking day.
I think this was a dramatic enough introduction to an article about my favourite digital creators. Eh? Point being, being outside in November is one of my least favourite activities of all time, and when I am inside, apart from actually doing things (I do a lot of very important things), I like to sit back, relax and watch something good that is not TV. I rarely get into random videos on youtube or such, since for some reason, most of the stuff that gets forcefully recommended to me these days is just absolute recycled slop - I have a few favourites I like getting back to for years now. Since a lot of Ni! is just me yapping about various kinds of media, I thought I'd recommed you some of this form of it as well, should you be looking for anything new to get into.
I have always loved computer games. Combat based, strategies, life simulators (those who know me well know that I'm the biggest Sims 2 nut), anything goes. I have also always enjoyed watching other people play them more than playing them myself, for some reason. I used to watch my cousin and dad play the first Far Cry together on our ancient computer as a kid, along with Max Payne 1 and 2, the first Mafia, and even some GTA Vice City and San Andreas with a friend of mine. I found it really fun, and was pretty surprised to later find whole communities built around a person playing a video game and others just kinda watching. As pretty much anyone who was into this, I started watching PewDiePie on YouTube at first, which only lasted for a little while before I moved on to some less-exaggurated-reaction-more-playthrough-based let's players. Now would be the time to say that I have outgrown most of them since then, but lo and behold, I actually still very much enjoy a couple of them to this day. I don't watch TV (unless it's the holidays and I'm at my mum's or something), so whenever I want something light to watch, good chances are that I'll sit through a 2 hour playthrough before I go to bed.
One of my favourite creators within this sphere is John Wolfe, a youtuber who I've been watching for over 8 years now. When I first stumbled upon a video of his, I remember liking that his reactions were entirely genuine, no forced scares with horror games, he's really witty when it comes to making fun of something, and also entirely and utterly honest if he thinks a game is crap. I think I got into him mostly through his shitty creepypasta/Jeff the Killer game series, along with intentional playthroughs of really bad, cheap indie horror games - I'll link some favourites from back then here, here, aaand here. I still get a good laugh out of those older ones from time to time. Nowadays he mainly posts ghost video/ghost hunting shows debunking stuff, which I enjoy as well here and there, but I mostly watch him for the playthroughs. He now moved those to his second channel John Twolfe. Recently I really liked his Still Wakes The Deep playthrough (amazing game with amazing voiceacting, by the way), along with a few numbers from the Fears To Fathom series, and most recently Look Outside (also an amazing, visually beautiful and story-packed game, also great music).
John Regularly does charity streams on Twitch as well.
Now, if you want a nice, calm but still fun playthrough, you go to John's channel. But sometimes it so happens that you maybe want to watch something completely unhinged, an inferno of memes and chaos through which you are guided by an insane man with a strong swedish accent.
Ladies and jentlemen, and everybody else, we are moving on to my favourite Vinesauce streamer, Joel (going by Vargskelethor on Twitch). Now, when I say that I have been watching John for a long time, it's about the same with this dude, because I genuinely cannot remember when was the first time I saw anything from him. I just know that I was much younger. Oh boy, how do I even begin to describe Joel's streams. I got into Vinesauce (a collective of twitch streamers, most of them regularly posting VODs onto YouTube) through Vinny (the one that started it all), I occasionally watch his stuff as well nowadays. He has a much calmer vibe, likes to play oldschool games and fuck around a bit, but not too much for it to get to Joel's level, mostly. I think I got into Joel's streams through the Windows Destruction series, and I remember laughing my ass off since it all perfectly matched my stupid, immature humor back then - and it still somehow does it now. I usually have to slice up watching single VODs into multiple days, since they do get pretty long, but I don't personally mind that. There's a ton of memery, random chatter, music/video game/pop culture references and talks, and he also occasionally films a pretty fun travel vlog. Most of his streams, as chaotic as they are, are my ultimate comfort watch. It also helps that he has a really nice voice. I know it sounds a bit creepy, but I just genuinely enjoy liestening people with cool sounding voices. I could listen to the man yap for hours. Some of my favourites from him - that I can name from the top of my head - are, now almost a cult classic within his audience, the Signal Simulator streams (where he gets pretty personal about his fear of anything alien/UFO related, something that I relate to a lot - as I have mentioned in the editorial), the few times he streamed The Sims 2 (it does get very stupid, but I also remember laughing so hard that my sides hurt), the early few streams of Voices of the Void, and GTA San Andreas spooky urban mysteries series. And a good couple of one-offs as well, like the Silent Breath one.

I have known Veronika for 12 years now. We met at a half-functioning "music school" we both went to. I basically attended it just because of one of my first bands which formed there, since I already was studying at the conservatory. The band used to meet up for practice sessions at our teacher's son's practice room, line up changing what felt like every month. The only constant members were me on bass, the guitarist and and a singer, with the techer's son occasionally helping us with the drums or a cajon (he was already a professional drummer). One day, our teacher came in during one of our practices, next to him a smiling, styled-up chick with a packed cajon on her shoulder. Visibly very excited, but also a little nervous from what was about ot go down. The teacher (who was already shitting himself over how charismatic she was - she has this effect on men to this day) introduced her as our "new drummer", and I think I rolled my eyes all the way back into my skull right at that moment. "You were such a bitch to me at the start!", she says from time to time still, laughing, and I have to admit that she's absolutely right. The absolute void of any kind of self-confidence (other than in my musical abilities, quite the opposite in that sphere actually) resulted in young Petra being very uncomfortable around any confident, good looking women. Being an absolute asshole to them was my default defense mechanism, so I spent the next few weeks staring, all annoyed, and rolling my eyes around everytime we had to interact. Never in a million years would I have guessed back then, that one day, she will be one of the people I value in my life the most, one of the closest. After one unexpected, intimate conversation we had, sharing our way to the bus stop (and which I was determined to suffer through in awkward silence), and which she was the initiator of, the iceberg moved. I realised how utterly stupid my predjudice was, and how strong, honest and genuinely good person she was, and still is. She didn't judge my behavior, and she was so transparent with me that she shared her very difficult personal stories, along with listening to mine as well. We grew up since then, lived through a lot more, we both absolutely grinded to get where we are now in the world of performance arts, and I am so very happy that we did not drift apart, and continue to meet up, talk and be here for eachother after all these years. And I am honoured that we sometimes share the cabaret stage as well. I'm happy that, as busy as she is, she agreed to the interview.
She's an icon, she's a legend and she is the moment.
And also an actress, host, burlesque performer, and a beautiful human being inside out - Veronika.

How would you introduce yourself ? I ask everyone this question...and everybody looks at me like this. laughter

laughter ...a little girl with big dreams. I feel like a tiny little fish in the big world of arts, a little fish who never stopped dreaming, and still hasn't given up.

Let's sum up everything you do full time, professionally - if you had to pick one thing from all of it that you like doing the most, what would it be ?

Everything I do has to do with a stage. That means that apart from drama/dance based roles in theater, I've been a burlesque performer as well for 10 years now. I was the first burlesque performer to make a public appearance in Slovakia, and I am proud of that. Apart from all that, I have my own talkshow, turned podcast (Povedz mi s Vivian, editor's note). The podcast is quite a new thing for me, I'm still learning how to do it well. I'm looking for ways to make it interesting for the listener, but also make sure for it not be too commercial. I host a lot of events, and I think that's what I like the most these days. With hosting, there's space for the gift of speech to truly shine. I believe I have that gift. I can joke with the audience, I can make them laugh, I can be strict...I can create a sort of a relationship with the audience for a little while, that's a lot closer than performing a 5 minute burlesque act or acting out a pre-written role. And I love that it's all live. It's right here and right now, and you cannot turn back and correct yourself anymore.

Would you say that you like to improvise ?

Improvisation is quite hard. To improvise well, you have to be great at your craft. I like to improvise, but I always have to have some anchor points that I can rely on. So, if it's not our burlesque/cabaret/community event that I know through and through, I have these points in my mind. Overall, it's up to my vocabulary and fantasy to make things interesting, because the audience wants to have fun. It's important to note though, that the host is not the star of the event, he just guides you through it. Some hosts tend to forget that. That's something you have to learn as a performer.

I personally know the story about how you came to love theater so much when you were still very young...could you share this story with the readers ?

My mum used to take me to the theater since I was very little. I remember going to Istropolis (A cultural center that is currently being reconstructed, editor's note), there was a children's theatre bethind it...I remember there were these huge flies on the wall with legs that moved...I don't know what that was about... and I remember that when I was about 10 years old, we went to DPOH (a theater in Bratislava, editor's note). They were playing some Shakespeare, I don't remember which play it was. Robo Roth (a famous slovak theater actor, editor's note) had a small role there, kind of a child himself still, he definitely wasn't the star he is now. I liked his performance so much that I told my mum "I want to act like that boy!" when we were leaving after. He's been my idol since then. Not in a sense that I want to act like him, or copy his style of acting, but in a sense of awakening the same emotions within people that he awakened in me that day. Emotions of the audience are the first and foremost for me. It doen't matter if positive or negative. Emotion is the core word of my being, of my life as a performer.

What has motivated you since then, to follow the dream and try again and again?

The fact that I was happy when I was watching a play, I was happy talking about theater, when I went to children's drama classes, when I was acting in Meteorit and Biele Divadlo (both small theaters in Bratislava, editor's note)...It's important to say, that I do not have a degree in acting. I was fighting that reality for a long time, I felt like a lesser artist because of it. Now I'm in a place where I have more experience, I've been on stage for 8 years now...and I can say to myself that I do well as I do. It was a long way there though. Everybody has insecurities, but for me, this feeling was particularly strong in this sphere. I have enormous respect for this art form. Same for all the people involved in it, there's so much hard work behind all of that. I realise who I am, what I can do, but also what I can't do. I am very strict with myself when it comes to this. But at the end of the day, when I get into something, I trust in it, and I trust myself in it and my abilities.

We'll delve into your burlesque creations for a bit now. Where do you find the inspiration for creating various acts ?

Everything is tied to theater. If a burlesque number has no artistic value, doesn't connect to it's theatric origins, doesn't have a story, I find it boring. I like to make a whole small universe when creating. We performed at a cabaret together a few days back, I will mention the story with my wig I used that day - I recieved a lot of negative reactions about it. That's not important to me though, because I see the act as a whole, full visual. It's not an act where I am beautiful and everyone thinks so. Every detail has a meaning within my performances. I have a new number prepared for next year, called Flower Queen - a story of a flower, beginning with the stem, continuing with the bulb, first small petals, all the way over to the season of autumn, when it all falls off. I adore flowers, I care for them in my garden, they inspire me. In the number Dark Rabbit, I am a rabbit from the Wonderland - from Alice in Wonderland, which we were preparing in the theater at the time. I have a Slovak number in which I am wearing a traditional dress, that one was a reaction to the bad political situation in Slovakia. I have Charlie Chaplin as well, who is, ofcourse, a well known and important theater figure. I don't look pretty in that one right away. At all. I have a huge men's suit on, the little moustache, but people love it. It doesn't always have to be about being a diva and a femme fatale. Everybody wants to look good, but beauty has a lot of forms. I can have long hair, short hair, I can have a mask, or I don't have to show my face at all. And I love that about it, I love to play with the various forms.

What is your favourite outlet for when you have time to switch off from all of this ?

My husband and I have a garden! We have an apiary, chickens, quails, we grow our own vegetables and fruit. Saturdays are for the garden. I wake up in the morning - still taking into consideration that I'm performing again later in the evening -, and I take the time to go there. I don't care how I look, now that it's cold I'm used to having about 4 layers on me. I arrive, I greet all my girls, because they're pretty much all girls...apart from Karol the rooster and a couple of boy-quails...I still greet them with "girls" though, it's one big hen party for me. I check on the flowers, fix them up a bit, don't care about nothing else, dirt under my nails, greasy hair, dirty boots, I'm living the dream. I don't have my phone on me during that time either. Well, apart from shooting stories for instagram from time to time, because I am fascinated by bees and I want people to know more about them. I pet the dog, I feed the hens, the chickens follow me everywhere...a bee sting here and there...I found out, that the buzzing of the bees makes me very calm, almost sleepy. That's a positive...what's a negative, is that I am there to work, and I just want to sit back, relax and listen to the bees. On top of everything, they smell so nice because of the honeycomb and wax, they are cute and fluffy...I really just want to chill and let my man do the work...I mean, I do that quite often laughter Bees are a miracle to me, a little galaxy living by its own rules, and I am just a visitor. Watching them, caring for them, petting them and being happy in their presence.

...you can pet a bee?

Ofcourse you can! I pet the bees, and I poke the drones. Drones don't sting, they don't have stingers, they are big and make a loud buzzing noise, they're pretty easy to tell apart from the honey bees. I always get in there like Ha! Drone! *poke*...they look at me, buzz a little more...but don't get me wrong, I'm not doing that to harm or hurt them in any way, I do it very, very gently.

What do you consider your biggest artistic achievement ?

That I haven't given up. There's big things happening to me, beautiful things, I do wonderful art...but I'm still not yet exactly where I've been dreaming to be. So...doing what I do, still, having trust in myself, even in this situation. I have hope. I think hope is the most dangerous emotion to have, it can really hurt you. But I still have it.

If you'd be given a chance to reset your life, all these things you do now, what would be the direction you'd go ? Would you still be a performance artist, or would you try something completely different ?

Hmmm, good question...(YES! editor 's note) At first, I thought of simply doing the same thing all over again. But then I thought about how important women's themes are to me. Women's rights, female focused domestic abuse cases, women's feelings, support for single mothers...I deeply resonate with all of these topics, perhaps because I have grown alongside my mum and grandma, two very strong women, who didn't have it easy in life. They got through it all and are my biggest role models. I would like to be more proactive when it comes to activism involving these topics, and if I were to choose a different field of work than the one I do now, I would probably like to work in an organisation focused on helping women. I think we do need to help women as much as we can, and that these issues should be talked about. These things are happening to people on a daily basis, and if we don't personally know anyone like that, or don't go through it ourselves, we tend to forget about it. After all, sometimes it helps even to say "I'm listening and I'm here for you."

What ambitions do you have for the future ? Which possible outcomes do you look forward to, and, on the opposite, what concerns you - regarding being a performer in Slovakia ?

There's this particular thing happening in cultural places these days...where a lot of people think that if they pay for a show, they can do whatever they want at the venue. That they're basically gods. They can talk loudly, judge you...For example, I've had this one experience with an older man in the audience during a cabaret show, where he just put his glass of champagne on the stage, because he was sitting close. He growled at me when I politely gestured to him to put it away - I was dancing and could have flipped it over, break it, logic. Another case was a group of men loudly commenting and making fun of me during my monologue. When I walked up to them and, again, politely but strictly confronted them, they shut up immediately, looking surprised. I love that kids are attending theater plays, but I am fascinated by how badly behaved a lot of them are. I would have never had the the gull to be like that. I'm interested in seeing how far we will have to go to keep the audience, fed by the mainstream media, entertained.

Do you think social media plays a role in this ? I mean, you have anybody's profile right in front of you, you can send them a private message, comment on their posts...there's a lot less cognital distance there.

Yes, the fact that we find eachother on instagram doesn't mean we're friends. The fact that we like some of eachother's posts also doesn't mean that we're friends. Maybe it really is so that the boundaries are fading away, because we think we know something about the person, based on a few posts and pictures. Instagram is not reality. There have been complaints before about me being "Vivian off the stage as well". No. I am Vivian for people I don't know. I'm guarding my personal space and safety. If we're not close, I'll hold the Vivian persona after the show as well. The people came to see Vivi, not Veronika. I don't think there's anything bad about it. For someone it's blasphemous, fake. I don't think so, I will be honest to them, but I will keep my Vivian decorum. I want to be Veronika for the close ones. Veronika is for you, for my friends, my family, my private life.
And, adressing the original question, regarding the state of cultural institutions and the future of artists in Slovakia, I don't think that's going anywhere. We will not give up. We will fight, we need art and culture in this country, and we will work. We already do, during these tough times and for little money, and we will keep going on.
When it comes to my ambitions...I realise that I won't be able to do burlesque for the next 50 years. Age doesn't have to concern anyone, but I have personal limits until when I actually want to do it. I want to produce, I want my Slovakia-travelling cabaret/burlesque production to do well and attract bigger audiences. I'm also interested in producing smaller theater acts, maybe helping artists in the making, and I want to continue acting, of course.

What advice would you give to the people who have similar dreams, but maybe not enough courage to pursue them?

Can you even dream without courage ?

I think it's possible. I keep hearing this narrative these days, which I have personally had a problem with as well during a few instances in my life - I would really want to do/try/get into this particular thing...but nobody cares anyway, so why do it at all?

Do you do it for other people or for yourself ? If I did the things I do for other people...I wouldn't. I don't fit into any of the things most people would want. But I am a lot of things they didn't know they wanted. I do this mainly for myself, because it makes me happy and I can't live without it. Not because I want people to tell me I'm amazing, although it is great to hear, but it's not the main reason at all.
As I have said in the beginning, I'm a little girl with big dreams. But for those dreams to become the reality that I'm living today, I had to have a lot of courage and renunciation. I went through countless rejections, read a lot of unfavourable comments, got a ton of hate...and I haven't given up. I wish for you to realise that you are so much more than what other people think of you. And for you to find the courage within yourself to fight for your dream. Because making your dreams reality is the most beautiful thing you can gift yourself.

I think the title speaks for itself in this case, so there's no need to explain it any further. And of course, if you're sick sick, you need a doctor. These are just a few nice immunity boosters for whenever you need it. All of them are based around pretty basic ingredients, so nothing special is really needed.

Fermented garlic

Very easy but strong immunity booster bomb. Peel a couple of garlic cloves (you can chop them up as well if you like, or leave them whole), throw them in a clean closable jar, pour in some quality raw honey, best bought from an actual beekeeper (I will plug my uncle here, he makes various kinds of honey...if you'd like, dm me and I'll make an order lol). You close the jar and put a date sticker on (I always forget). Don't touch it for about 3-4 weeks, some people go for longer. After this period you can eat from it. A spoon a day is enough for an immunity boost, helps with a cold and coughing mucus up. The garlic becomes less spicy, which is good since sometimes I'm "lucky" enough to pick out incredibly, unpleasantly spicy garlic (flashback to last Christmas, when I ate a clove before dinner - a tradition my family does - and spent the next 10 minutes practically crying, feeling like the garlic funes infiltrated my brain). It is also not as harsh on the stomach.

Anti - cough cloves

Just a few years ago I found out that cloves are great for fighting a cough and/or an irritated throat. I learned two ways how to use them like this. If you've overcome some seasonal illness and you're having a hard time getting rid of the annoying cough still (or you happen to be at a place where you are expected to shut up (like myself during work concerts), simply take two cloves and suck on them. That is literally it. I didn't believe it myslef until I tried it. Be very careful about accidentally inhaling parts of them, it's best to hold them inbetween your teeth, but sometimes they come apart still, so make sure you're not laying down or lounging while doing this.
Another way is to make a very simple cough medicine with them. Throw 2-3 cloves on a warmed up pan. Wait for them to heat up a little, they will whiten out a little bit. When warm, take them out, grind them (best in a spoon right away), and pour some honey over them. Eat. 2 times a day is okay, morning and evening. Helps with cough, I take them for max 3 - 4 days.

Ginger everything

Ginger tea is great for your vocal chords, for digestion (before food, it nicely prepares your digestive tract for a heavier meal - don't drink it on an empty stomach though), and for fighting a nasty cold as well - I love the combination of ginger, licorice, cinnamon and mint. Low blood pressure crew, don't drink too much of it too quickly, ginger lowers blood pressure. It happened to me before that I didn't think of it and sorta kinda fainted in the kitchen. Ginger can add a nice kick to your common chicken broth or vegetable soup, along with strengthening their health benefits. I have also taken a teaspoon of ginger powder two times a day as medicine, and as horrible as it is (you can mix it with sugar to make it less painful), it definitely works really well. I was way better after two days with a mild fever and snot - only took paracetamol a few times during it, which I usually have to take for the whole working week before I get better.

My mum's garlic soup

The last thing I'll add will be a simple recipe (ok Petra, you burn the roux 90% of the time when making it) by my mum. When she still lived in Bratislava, she called up one day and found out that I am sick to the point that I barely am able to make myself a cup of tea. She was at my door under an hour, with a liter of this hot soup in a pot, and it's since then that I take her "eat it, it will help!" seriously. I was sipping at it the whole day, feeling the will to live slowly return back into me. Garlic is fucking great, man.

The recipe :

Put some oil on the bottom of a pot, enough to cover it, turn the stove on on a medium/lower heat.
Add a heaping tablespoon of all purpose flour and stir for one - two minutes. Look after it so it doesn't burn (that's mainly a note to myslef). If it seems like it's beginning to burn, take the pot off heat for a while, while stirring still, and lower the heat even more before putting it back.
Add 5-6 cloves of crushed garlic (can be chopped up as well, just crushed will have a smoother texture), fry for a maximum 1 min/30 sec.
Add 2 teaspoons of sweet paprika, fry a little again, and then add a liter of water.
Bring it to boil (careful about a boil-over), cook for around 15-20 minutes.
Can add boiled potato cubes, but it's not a must, it's mostly for texture/for the soup to be more filling.
Add in some salt, a bit of vegeta, and black pepper or chili powder.
Can add croutons or pieces of toasted bread.

Lots of health and bon apétit!

Pre-digesting Christmas time

Thursday, 4.12, 18:18.
Laying in bed.
When I got home from work today, I made a bomb ass garlic soup, burned the roof of my mouth because I was hungry as hell and eating too quickly, and every molecule in my body is now ready to switch off. Brain is a little restless, there's this...also this, you could finish this up, do this...Nope. I will be playing 2 concerts tomorrow, I'll proofread everything here and make some small adjustments, and november's Ni! is done. A miracle. All these people eagerly waiting for it, it's a lot of pressure...
I'll play 2 more concerts and a rehearsal on saturday, and sunday's the last one. Last week of work after that, and Christmas madness can fully begin. Okay, when I said that I'm looking forward to the holiday as much as for a colonoscopy, I was exaggerating a little. I have to admit that whenever I hear the first chords of Last Christmas by Wham, my brain reacts to it the same way it did when I was taking Xanax a few years ago. I just like the damn song.
I like Christmas lights...I like the movie Christmas Vacation (that one old czech overdub is the best), eggnog, lokše (a salty pancake thing that I don't know the english name for, google didn't help much) from the Christmas market, a glass of wine with mum after the Christmas dinner, white cabbage soup, potato salad...shit, I might actually like Christmas.
I just don't like that despite being known as the merriest and most wolesome holiday of all, we all know that it can very well turn into the complete opposite. The spirit of Christmas can very well become a demon of materialism and chaos. Plus mandatory family visits, mandatory gifts (not to me, get used to it, I'm broke lol), fights over the stupidest shit exclusively on Christmas Day, gallblader attacks, screaming children.
A few memories of the last couple of Chirstmas with my parents still together.
Sucks, man.
But you know what...ofcourse I can still find some beauty in it all. And if I'll get to live through those wholesome moments again, I'll be honestly really happy.
...I think my mouth is not burnt enough. I killed that soup, yum.
Regarding the december issue of Ni!...I will leave it up to fate at this point. I'm just kind of really busy up until Christmas. If I actually manage to make it, I'll pop a champagne.
In case I won't, Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hannukah.
If you got all the way here, thank you. ♥