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My house is under siege
Where can you reduce clutter in your life? Today’s prompt by WordPress is a good one. It addresses my nagging feeling that I probably should declutter my house. There are books, books everywhere. I have a library upstairs, that has all the academic books I used to write my PhD (a lot), books on different… Continue reading
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Tsar Nicholas II
Tsar Nicholas II’s reign (1894-1917) is marked by many contradictions, both in Russia and outside of Russia, often portraying him as an evil man, which wasn’t the truth. During his reign the tsar took many initiatives to improve both internal and external affairs of Russia, that he deeply loved and cared for. He strongly believed… Continue reading
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On Amsterdam, Master and Margarita, and magic
But before I launch into my experience with psychoses, let’s first discuss whether magic is real. Even before coming to Amsterdam (a city that has lots of magic), I always believed in something. I was fascinated by unusual occurrences, strange occasional visions, and the supernatural. One of my friends on Twitter published an excellent post… Continue reading
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Born in Russia. A boy, a book, and The House of Artist
When I was eleven I fancied a boy. It was that innocent, first-time crush when the ultimate wish is to spend more time together, and a kiss on the lips. It never happened. What did happen, however, was a love of a book thanks to that boy. His name was Andrei and he was a… 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.