Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts

Friday, May 4, 2012

Hayatta en zor sey yasamak. Cogu insan sadece varoluyorlar. - Oscar Wilde







"Dünya sadece zevk, eğlence, mutluluk, ihtiras ve bilimum ihtiyacın giderilerek yaşanıp ölünen bir yer midir?" diye bana bir mesaj atarak surekli susturmaya calistigim beynimdeki varolcu canavari costuran canim arkadasim Turgut'a...



Olum genelde bunalim veya kederle iliskilendirilir, oysa benim olme istegini duydugum tek an, asiri mutlu oldugum bir andi.

Bir yaz gunuydu, Bodrum'daydim, yanimda arkadaslarim vardi, annemi opup koklamistim, bizim evde hep birlikte kahvalti yaptiktan sonra denize girmis, havuzda oynamis, cig borek yemis, aksaminda dus bile alamadan tuzlu bikinilerimizin uzerine cektigimiz sortlarla igrenc muziklerin caldigi bir barda delice eglenmis, mekanlar kapaninca Cafe del Mar'in plajinda nargile icerek gunu agartmis, ve hic uyumadan kahvalti yapmak icin bize gitmek uzere 7 kisi bir arabaya dolusmus, Guvercinlik'in yolunu tutmustuk. Kivrilan yollarda deniz kenarinda ilerlerken kendi kendime dedim ki, "Allah'im cok mutluyum. Boyle bir anda olmek istiyorum."

Oyle siradisi sevinc patlamasi yaratacak birsey olmamisti ama kendimi ucsuz bucaksiz hissetmistim o gun. Cok ama cok ozgurdum, her an her yere gidebilir, herseyi yapabilirdim. Cok sevildigini hissetmek insani ozgurlestiren birsey. Seven beni boyle de seviyor zaten diyerek korkmadan kirabiliyor insan tabulari, kafasinin dikine gidebiliyor. O arabadaki herkes bir birimizi cok seviyorduk, o yuzden biz ozerktik, dokunulmazdik, durdurulamazdik. Sevilmek insani yenilmez hissettiriyor. Sanki ucurumun kenarindan kendimi biraksaydim kayalara, bana birsey olmazdi o gun.

O noktadan daha iyiye zaten gidemezdi hayat. Ondan ote mutluluk olamazdi. O an, orada olebilirdim.  

Olum nedir ki aslinda? Hayatta ne yaptiysan yanina kaldigi noktadan baska birsey mi olum?

Ne kadar calismissin, ne kadar yukselmissin, ne kadar biriktirmissin, ne fark eder ki oldukten sonra. Hepimizin bir vakti var su dunyada, ozunde, yaptigimiz herseyi kendimizi zil calincaya kadar oyalamak icin yapiyoruz. Kendinizi nasil oyalamayi tercih edersiniz, sevgilinize sokularak mi, yoksa muhasebe kayitlarini ederek mi?

Insana olumu unutturduklari an, hayatinin kontrolunu ele geciriyorlar. O zaman burdaki sayili vaktini hiyar gibi bir ofis hucresinde gecimeye ikna ediyorlar seni. Kisir donguye giriyorsun; calistikca olumu unutuyor, olumu unuttukca calisiyorsun. Olumden en cok korkan kole ruhlardir, onlar da kacip kacip plazalara, uc harfli kisaltmalara indirgenis titrelere saklanirlar.

Hayat ve olum ic icedir, bu yuzdendir ki yasamayanlar, olmeyi de beceremezler.

18. katin klimasini solumus cigerler mi daha guzel curur, yoksa Istanbul sokaklarinin egzozunu soluyan cigerler mi acaba?

Sadece ozguveni tam insanlar becerebilir yasamayi. Cunku onlarin, toplumun onaylarina ihtiyaci yoktur kendi degerlerini bicmek icin. Bir koltuk kapmalarina gerek yoktur kendilerine kendilerini ispat etmek icin. Nitekim, sacini supurge etmeden yukarilara tirmanilmaz, supurge olmus kafada da yasama sevinci kalmaz.

Aslinda evet, dunya zevk, eglence, mutluluk, ihtiras ve bilimum ihtiyacin giderilecek, yasanip olunen bir yer bence. Ama en buyuk ihtiyac sevgi. Ve sevgi oyle bir tezattirki beraberinde hem ozgurluk, hem de sorumluk getiriyor ki, budur beni rayimda tutan, iyi bir insan yapan. Sevdiklerimi mutlu etme istegi. Onlar benim hayatimin anlami, tadi tuzu.


Bir erkek arkadasimla ideolojik bir mesele yuzunden deliler gibi kavga etmistik (zaten hic elle tutulur birsey icin kavga etmezdik, ideolojik kapismalardi bizimkisi). O demisti ki, "Cocugumuz olursa astronot olsun isterim, onu o yonde hazirlayacak sekilde yetirecegim". Ben de kuplere binmistim, sen nasil olur da cocugun hayatina onun icin karar verirsin, bu nasil bir egodur?!!" diye. O da, "Ben insanliga hizmet etsin istiyorum, bundan daha yuce bir misyon olabilir mi?" demisti. Ben de bu dusunce sekillerinin, toplumun insanlari kole hayatlara hapsetmek icin gelistirilmis ego tuzaklari oldugunu savinmustum. Oyle ya, yoksa kim cekecek dunyanin pisligini. Elbet insanlari hayatin guzelliklerinden vazgecirip kolelige razi edecek motivasyonlar yaratmak lazim...

Cildirdim, ne o, birileri bir labratuara benim cocugumun adini verecek yada heykelini dikecek diye o omrunu uzayda yanliz ve hayattin butun guzelliklerinden uzak mi gecirecek?! Dedigim gibi, olum ne yaptiysan yanina kaldigi an. Benim cocugum oldugunde yanina hovardaliklari, asklari, dostluklari, hayal kirklari, ihanetleri, maceraleri, yedigi yemekler, dinledigi muziklar, ettigi danslar, ciktigi daglar, catisinda bira ictigi binalara kalsin isterim, ona buna hizmet yillari degil.

Ona aynen soyle dedim, "Kamyon soforu olsun daha iyi. En azindan otoyol kenarinda uc liraya iki fahiseyle sevisir."

Olmebilmek icin cok mutlu olmak lazim, cok... Aksi helde olum dunyadan yitmekten baska birsey degil.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Why you should call your long lost friends




Turns out we are never too old for parental advise or warnings.
Turns out my mother was right about not running down the stairs.

Hanging out with my ditsy self proved to have its consequences. I was expecting an important phone call (yes, from a boy, but nothing like what you are thinking), and my brains and my phone were scattered around the house as usual. As I was building the first Turkish spacecraft ever in my room, I heard my phone ring downstairs. I took a run for it.

You can guess what happened next. Monday, bloody Monday, Monday, bloody Monday... Oh Bono!

My is back out and I am bruised all over. I have been instructed bed rest for a week and muscle relaxant injections on daily basis. Bed rest is a torment for someone who is as energetic and naughty as myself. I have exhausted all the magazines and DVDs at home. It is super frustrating not being able to dance, especially when the competition is so close. :(( I also have to wear a corset, but I am not gonna complain about that :) I feel pretty, oh so pretty... Oh West Side Story!

As bored as I am, I am starting take this experience as a bliss. In addition to breakfasts in bed and I am receiving flowers & cards and more importantly, phone calls from long lost friends, exs, their families.... I knew that they were always there for me but it had been a long time I had been reminded.

It got me thinking, why does it take some sort of a personal flash news to reconnect with the people who used to be dear to us?


I guess when we lose touch for a certain time, we feel the need to have a valid excuse to get back in touch with them... as if, if we called someone out of the blue, it would make us less cool in their eyes or as if it would be a pathetic gesture !@$%????? Others are intimidated by the possibility of awkward moments that could arise.

I fail to grasp how we got so concerned with our images that friendship and love came secondary? When have we traded sincerity for posing? The irony of is that someone who is so pre-occupied with being cool is obviously NOT a cool person and nothing is cooler than a free-flowing person, freed of cultural norms and inhibitions. And if you are cool indeed, you will tackle those awkward moments just fine.

I am sure that everyone has person whose soul existence in their lives has diminished to a sad phonebook entry. Everyone should to get over themselves, and give them a call.

At least, make sure to make me run down the stairs time to time. 'Cause my spacecraft is far from being complete, so my next news flash won't be any time soon.


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

This goes down to my very first crush ever



I used to travel to Sweden about 4-5 times a year to visit my father. First, I would be overjoyed by our reunion, but later the ADD typical to 13 year olds would creep in. I would manage to keep myself busy with the yummy Swedish hot dogs and H&M for a few more days but soon or later I would be overtaken by boredom (which can be blamed for my occasional existential angst). That was when my parents picked up the embarrassing habit of asking their friends, "Can your kid be friends with mine?"

Awkward introductions were followed by awkward acquaintances. A 16 year old nympho, a 9 year old who was desperate for attention and finally a 13 year old "princes" were among some of my friends. I met him in one of these dreaded attempts of my parents to find me friends.

He did not talk much, he was the shy kind, maybe because of his poor Turkish. Our first day together did not require much talking anyways as we spent the entire day on rollercoasters. Our friendship which started with a high dose of adrenalin turned into hours long TV sessions over the next years. We would sit on his bed and zap between The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-head. Weirdly, those were precious moment of insight to his world moments although we did not talk much:

- A Green Day poster on the wall, he is cool > check
- An astronomy book by his bed; cultured > check
- No football, nor soccer team flags in his room > check
- An electro guitar, he has a garage band > check
- Zaps when he sees Dawson's Creek > check
- Offers me snacks > check :)))
- Gym bag; athletic > check
- His girlfriend's bale shoes from when she was 4!! > :'(

In those awkward moments of sitting on the bed in quiet my heart would skip a beat.

Our families continued to hang out until we are 16 or 17, so I got to see him once or twice until then. He made my heart skip a beat every time.

It was not until I was 28 that we got to hang out again. Much to my pleasure, he turned out to be a great young man. Still handsome, athletic, cool, cultured, and to my surprise, a great conversationalist.

Seeing him after all those years got me thinking of love and the power of it. Love is the source of all motivation and inspiration.

I want to thank him for making me write again.





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Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
R. D. Laing

Sunday, April 25, 2010

sican kiz arkadasini dusunmenin soguk ruzgari

Bugun size kendini centilmen/galant poz kesen ama iclerinde yontulmamis ayilar bulunan erkeklerden bahsetmek istiyorum.

Uzaktan her davulun sesi hos geldigi gibi bu dumbelek herifler de uzaktan hos gelirler. Torbalarini tasiyip, kapini acar, yemek ismarlar, dogum gunun de en guzel cicekleri gonderir, bayilirsin. Iliskinin ilk aylarinda tam puan alirlar her seyden. Hatta hatta boyle bir adam gercek olamaz dersin... ... ve malesef gercek degildir de.

Nitekim cicim aylari gecip, erkek kaleyi feth ettigi hissine kapildiginda iclerindeki ayilar homurdanmaya baslar. Bir gun birden bir cumlenin sonuna sizi dumura ugratan bir "lan" eklenir , "Naber lan?" Halbuki ayi yavrusu ta kendisidir. Bir kac aya kalmadan o chop sticklerle nazik nazik osami sosunda marine edilmis deniz kestaneli inside-out roll yiyen adamin agzindan kafasini bozan birine "orospu cocugu" cikar, duvara carparsiniz.

Tabakta kalan son parcayi size sormadan alir. Ne de olsa o erkektir, onun daha cok yemeye ihtiyaci vardir, ve o parca onun TABI KI hakkidir. Nezaketen bile karsinidakine sormaya gerek duymaz.

"Vucud sampuaniymis, organik aloavera ozlu Aveda sampuanmis, offmus, pofmus, ona 50 kagit verilir miymis, Haci Sakir de onlarin isini gorurmus, sen enayi miymissin" diyen, eli cebine gitmeyen ukala adam, hic tukurdugunu yalamaktan utanmadan senin dusundan buram buram aloavera kokarak cikar. Ama, o hala kasaya geldiginde bantta yanliz bir Haci Sakir ilerler, senin sampuanlar azaldikca azalir...

Yatagin hangi tarafini istedigini sevgilisine sormaz. O gozune bi yer kestirmistir, orasi kayitsiz sartsiz onundur. Cunku o kendi rahati bozulmadigi surece centilmendir. "Once bayanlar" prensibi sadece kapidan gecerken gecerlidir, cunku kapini tutar ki, arkadan pandigini yerlestirsin.

Her dedigi dogru, hatasini kabul etmez, ukala, cekilmez tipler cikar o boyali kabuklarindan.

Bu arada hala torbalar tasinir, cicekler yollanir elbet. Ne de olsa o bir centilmendir. Yeterki uykusunu kacirmayin, rahatini bozmayin.

Cunku bunlar kiz arkadaslarini "sicarken" hayal ettiklerinde ondan sogurlar.

Bir arkadasim erkeklerin sevgililierini klozet ustunde ikinirken, zort zort osuruken hayal ettiklerinde kizdan soguduklarini soylediklerinde dumur olmustum. Meger sevgisi ve algisi o kadar sig insanlar da mumkunmus.

Bu ayilarin kapaziteleri o kadar limitliymiski, kadinlik anlayislari o kadar sigmis: o minik beyinleridenki kadin terlemezmis, killari uzamazmis, kaka yapmazmis...

Bu adamlari centilmenlikleri tevekkeli bu kadar ozurlu.

Onlar kumandalarina, yataklarinin istedigi taraflarina tutuna dursunlar, ben fosur fosur tuvaleti inletmeye gidiyorum.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Iliskiler adil olabilir mi, yoksa hepimiz kek olmaya gonullu muyuz?

Her seyin olcusunun manevi oldugu ve herkesin maneviyatinin farkli konustugu bir duzende bir iliskiye nasil adelet bicersin? Bir standart horizon olmazsa tartinin bir kefesindeki sen mi, obur kefesindeki o mu agir basiyor nasil anlarsin?

Yanlis anlasilmasin, guc yada sevgi olcmek derdinde degilim. Ne kadar adil bir iliski oldugunu olcebilmek isterdim ben. Mesala, onunla birlikte olabilmek icin sevdigin insanlardan uzak kalmaya razi olmak ona dogru attigin 10 adim sayilirsa, onun senin istedigin eve tasinmasi kac adim sayilir, yada sayilir mi?

Biri hep 2-3 adim atiyorken, oburu hep 10ar 10ar geliyorsa enayi midir yada lokomotif mi? Ne zaman vericilik sagliksizlasir? 2er adim gelen ne zaman iyice salip 10ar 10ar gelenin butun yolu kat etmesini bekler?

Adil bir birliktelik mumkun mudur yada bir taraf hep hammal midir?

Adalet aradikca iliskiler politiklesiyorsa, en temel hakkin olan esitlik arayisindan vazgecmeyek mi lazim? Ama bu insanin kendine saygisini somurerek kisiyi her gun tuketir. Ote yandan, surekli kurdeleyi cizginin uzerinde tutmaya calistigin bir halat yarisi da her gun insanin yasama sevincinden ve gucunden calarak yipratir.

Adaletin varligi da yoklugu kadar yipratiyorsa, o zaman her sey iki kisilik bir yolda mi tek kisilik bir yolda mi yorulmak istedigimize bakar.

Ikili iliskilerde bir birey nerde biter, oburu nerde baslar diye dusunuyorum. Iliskiler fedakarlik ve ozveri ister. Ortada bir nevi ortak cuvaliniz vardir, insan yeri geldikce kendi cuvalindan alip ona koyar. Bazen hafif toplardir ortak cuvala aktarilan: cani arkadaslariyla cikmak ister ama esini yanliz birakmaya kiyamaz, bazen agir: esi hastadir, varini yogunu onu kurtarmaya harcar. Ama ne zaman insanin kendinden alip iliskiye koyduklari aslinda obur insana gider?

Ve daha onemlisi bu ne gibi sonuclar yaratir?

Insan bunlari dusunmeyerek mi kendine kotuluk eder, yoksa bu cevapsiz sorularla ugrasarak mi?

En klasi aptal olmak, farkindalik insani yiyip bitiren.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Moving in together



me by Kaya

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Genetik olarak sosyetigim ben.

Hic inkar etmeyecegim. Gayet pahali zevklerimin oldugu dogrudur.

Evvela sushi, personal training, Iphone, Stella for Adidas, masaj.. Mac'e uyeyim, kisin Isvicre'ye kayaga giderim, yazin Bodrum'a... Konserdir, muzedir falan onlari saymiyorum bile cunku onlar yeterince yuzeysel degiller. Boyle en bayagisindan, Yeditepe ayardinda inciler sacicam simdi size.

Bazilari bunlari telefonda mi yetistirir, kapi onu smorting malzemesi mi yapar, onu bilemem...

Daha kartlamama ceyrek asir kala yatmadan once illa yuzume krem surerim. Chanel, Lancome, Clinique ne varsa hucrelerim kendilerini iyi tanir. Gel gelelim benim 13. kromozomumda "sosyetik" yazdigindan kabul etmiyor oyle 50 dolarlik kremleri. Nitekim ilk Chanel sisesinde davul gibi sismis gozlerle uyandim, Clinique goz torbamda tomurcuklanma yapti, Lancome ise nemlendirecegine pul pul kuruttu. Supper alerjik cildim Body Shop'un %100 dogal urunlerine de kirmizi kart verdi. Bi sisesi 150 dolarlik La Mer'e ha diyor.

13. kromozomda kodlu: P.A.H.A.L.I. Hatta hatta La Mer ve sushi karsilikli helixte twist halindeler. Daha neler var, neler... Gelicem onlara da baska bi ara. Kendi fetvami veriyorum.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Birthday Bubble


Yeay, I am 27!

That is 27 in Turkish standards because they round 26 years 1 day off to 27. To the rest of the world I am still 26.

I could choose to say 26 but I prefer 27 for people perceive 27 a lot older than 26. By claming to be 27, I get the “adult” treatment and shock those who think I must be a freshman in collage.

I amuse myself by making people guess my age. It is usually a very flattering game except for this last time I played it with the cab driver who was taking me to my birthday party. It got a little uncomfortable when he started elaborating on how I have the body of a woman and the face of a teenager. It is a compliment that most women die to hear but the thought that the driver had already measured my bra size before I get in the car almost made it an assault, or I haven’t gotten over my sensitivities over the past 27 years.

If we manage to overlook these little frustrations, it feels like the universe, which we belong to and own at the same time, is changing skin on the day of our birthdays. We wake up to an improved version of ourselves and thus of the universe. Everything is the same but also different, or at least you feel as so.

On the 18thof Sept 2009, I woke up to my “improved universe” to where my camera finally returned after a year in hiding. Birthday magic continued later in the day when I found out that I had more money in the bank than I knew of. It did not help Turkey to win the basketball match against Greece, but it did fill my karaoke night unexpectedly with about 30-35 people. Yet, the universe saved its best treat for the end of the day when I approached a taxi to turn on the day tariff at 4 am. He said, “Don’t you know? There is no night tariff anymore.” Dolce vita!

Our updated versions make us feel like we are capable of more in this new age. If it weren’t for this feeling of empowerment, we wouldn’t have new resolutions every year.

So, here are mine:

1) Be irreplaceable for the companies I do consulting for. Grow the business. Create opportunities for testing business ideas.
2) Resolve the long distance state of our relationship.
3) Work out consistently three times a week.
4) Get better with emails for the sake of not breaking hearts.

27, are you strong enough to let me do these?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Overwhelmed by paperwork



Everyone thinks that their family is different and I am sure that they are each unique cases indeed. Nevertheless, I think many families can be classified under common themes like cheating fathers, too involved grandparents, weird siblings, dependent mothers, financial worries, interventionist extended families, etc...

Yet, I still feel like mine stands alone in its own category : A successful, well-educated but not enlightened doctor dad whose obsessive-compulsiveness casted a shadow over a complete era even after his death, a schizophrenic and violent uncle whose gambling addiction paved his way to trouble with the mafia, a 12 year old half-brother I (intentionally) never met, an angelic yet amazon mother who tackles all the problems that threaten her family, a step dad who lives in Switzerland and four step siblings I have seen maybe a total of 5 times in 8 years, a depressed grandmother, a dear friend, two dogs: one blind, one lame and myself.

I have no considerable worldly possessions but in case we crash in the same plane with my mother once day, I would rather save the remaining 1600 pandas instead of my providing my uncle with more money to get himself in trouble with.

So, I wrote my will 3-4 years ago.

I wanted to amend it today but I was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork they threw at me. You can't even rest easily in peace in this country. You need to get a number and wait in line for 3 hours only to be told that you have to come back on Mon to complete your paperwork.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Have a band-aid?

It has been a very tough year.

How did it get here? I was a happily slacking yet still A scoring senior at Brown. Had a great group of friends, a summer vacation to look forward to, a house on the best spot of Providence, healthy family, and no worries on my head expect how to skip my African Dance rituals. I used to wake up at 5 am for my yoga and pilates classes Mon through Thurs, swam at least twice a week, organized basketball games, and partied on the weekends, marched for Darfur, had 5K on my account.

Of course I knew that life would be a bumpy road but I thought things would come one by one and that I would have the strenght to tackle them all. If only one of the ropes of your parachute gets loose, you can still manage. 2009 has been the year of free fall. My parachute seems to disappear in the sky. Shit really hit the fan this time.