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Chapter 1: Tea in This English Hell
I told them I’m a vampire, but they just scribbled ‘delusion’, and now I’m sectioned, sipping tea in this English hell. I am in Sheffield, to be precise. A Russian-born royal, turned into a vampire at twenty-seven, I fled my native land for a restful life in France. But nothing is restful anymore, and I… Continue reading
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Psychic Files 2: An Island by the Sea
My psychic said I would move again. I didn’t believe him. In 2007, I had just moved back to Brussels from Amsterdam. Move again? Why on earth? I loved Brussels. I had called a recruitment company from Amsterdam, hoping for a job in finance, where six years as a bank analyst had given me some… Continue reading
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Psychic Files 1: Somewhere Sunny
In 2007, my psychic, a French expert in I Ching, told me: ‘You will move. Somewhere sunny.’ Why on earth would I move? I was thirty and thought I had kind of made it. With two psychoses behind me (or maybe three?), I sat in the PhD students’ room at the faculty of sociology in… Continue reading
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Move less, and believe in yourself even when the world tries to crush you
What’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain? You know what? A renowned French psychic, who was also a specialist in the I Ching oracle, once told me: “Most people move only once, when they grow up and buy their own house. And usually it stays… Continue reading
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I have many homes
What’s a place you visited that felt like home? A simple question if you travel. For me it is painful. I almost cried when I saw it. I have lived in four countries. Each one became a home. Brussels first: six years. I arrived at nineteen to study in French. The start was hard. A… Continue reading
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I was Buddha
It was on a rainy day in November that I looked outside the window of my workplace in Amsterdam and asked: “Is there more to it? Is there something else?” I was three months into the promotion – portfolio manager – still a financial analyst of banks, still no diploma, at a consultancy in Amsterdam.… Continue reading
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My cat called Luni.
Share a photo of your pet and tell us one thing that makes them uniquely them. This is my cat, Luni, and he is an absolute delight. We had another cat previously – Gina. We took her from an animal shelter when she was seven years old. I remember that when we came to the… Continue reading
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Is there fate?
Do you think everything happens for a reason? Is there fate? Do you think everything happens for a reason? I do. I am not always sure how to describe it. Is it faith, a deep, personal faith in God, or something else? I struggle with the precise words, especially in the current world, where belief… Continue reading
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My mother
Who was your most influential teacher? Why? My beloved mother who passed away in June 2024 was a teacher. She was a brilliant mathematician who taught at universities almost all her adult life. She passed away at 71 while working fulltime at a university in England. My mother was a very dedicated teacher and the… Continue reading
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Why Belgian Food Beats French Food (And I’m Not Sorry)
Ambiance Enter any Belgian café or a restaurant and you get smiles, friendly comments and feel like you are much welcome to be there. In France, not always so. It is as if they do you a favor, that they have much better things to do, rather than spend their time on tolerating foreigners to… Continue reading
About Me
I am a doctor of philosophy, a university lecturer, and a lover of cats, fine wine, dancing, theatre, and human eccentricity. I was born in the Soviet Union (Moscow). I am fluent in four languages, and have spent all my adult life studying (except from 18 to 19) working and living throughout Western Europe. Despite a surname-Netchitailova- that translates from Russian into English as “unreadable”, my greatest passions in life are reading and writing. My personal struggles have made me appreciate the manifestations of weirdness that exist everywhere.