Yvonne Studer 2009

Does 4qating get any easier or more of a routine each year? -- Certainly not. The heart always beats fast, an effort must be made every single time. But once the first step has been taken, it's pure fun.

So it was again this year. I 4qated the following quotes in Oerlikon, a district in the north of Zurich, near the place where my school has found a provisional home for the next two years:

From Pilgermann, 1983, p. 31:

Now I see why there must be a tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden: it bears that fruit which cannot possibly be resisted; God did not make it resistible, it must be eaten so that a mystery will be perpetuated, the mystery of the gaining of loss.

The Pilgermann quote was placed on a bench with rude inscriptions on the second level of MFO Park in Neu-Oerlikon, a hanging garden as it were, built on a scaffolding that imitates the shape of a factory which stood there until about fifteen years ago. MFO stands for Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, a place with a past as bleak as that of any factory that used to produce weapons in World War Two. The park tries to make up for the factory, no doubt, but the inscriptions on the bench show that the work of destruction never stops and always finds a way to turn something good into something evil.

This is a photo that shows the construction from the outside.

And this photo was taken while I was sitting on the bench on the second level. The greenish pebble-like pieces around what's a small pond in summer are in fact pieces of green, blue and white recycled glass, rounded off so nobody walking through them ruins their shoes. The sunlight made the pieces glitter as if they were jewels. Below you can see the bench.

Right next to the park is my favourite restaurant/cafe with the wonderful name Not Guilty. Motto: "Natural Food is our Passion." (Also see their website at www.notguilty.ch) They serve delicious organic food and a wide choice of fresh juices, and the best thing is the little owl painted in the top corner of a wall, almost invisible, by the boyfriend of the manager (according to a waitress I asked about it) -- Pilgermann, the owl! So you see how one thing led to another...

From Amaryllis Night and Day, 2001, p. 51:

'When I tuned in to you I wasn't thinking ahead,' said Amaryllis. 'I was desperate for someone to connect with, I had a good feeling about you, I pulled you into my dream and here you are up to your neck in my weirdness.'
'It takes two to make this particular weirdness, Amaryllis. I'm not sorry to be part of it. Are you sorry you pulled me?'
'Actually, no.'

The Amaryllis quote found another recipient. There is a flower shop named Amaryllis in Oerlikon, so I went there, bought pinky-orange roses with yellow furze and told the owner why I'd chosen her shop.

I said it was my favourite writer's birthday and that one of his novels was called Amaryllis Night and Day. She didn't know Russ's novel but had chosen the name of the shop because she liked the sound of it, even though a lot of people seem to find it difficult to spell it correctly. After paying for the flowers, I gave her the quote and we both had a good laugh at the transaction.

Finally I want to report the first 4qation in the virtual reality of Pet Society, a village on the planet Facebook in the Fourth Galaxy. Purryl, also known as Nabilca, Thing of Darkness, and her best friend Nnvsnu Tsrungh decorated their house with mini quotes ("Glim" from Amaryllis Night and Day, "No Trubba" from Riddley Walker, "Vegemania" from Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, and "Be happy" from The Mouse and His Child). They also sent best wishes to Russ. Officially, Nabilca and Nnvsnu are on holiday, but in reality they are again on a secret mission to save the universe. Purryl forwarded the photos to me and asked me to pass on the message to the Kraken and the website.

Purryl (aka Nabilca) and Nnvsnu Tsrungh (sitting on her head pretending to be a hat).

Happy birthday to you, Russ, from me, too, and lots of love to everyone out there.