Natasha wrote:
Hi all! - Just want to share some news on where Marat is now - from Sovsport.ru - July 2, 2009
Marat had lunch with Pavel Bure (very famous hockey player) at Luzhniki Arena café next to tennis courts (in Moscow)
Reporters were waiting for Bure trying to guess which friend Bure could be playing tennis with.
“We were shocked when we saw…Marat Safin! Former #1, who just came back from Wimbledon, sat down at the nearby table, ordered salad & carrot juice..”
"We asked Bure if he was going to play tennis with Marat, and he laughed: “No, that’s not my level! “
So, Marat is in Moscow now!
Natasha, where are you? We need you to translate the whole interview that came out today in Sovsport. PLEASE!
I saw the link on mtf:
http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/337104
I tried to translate the last part of the interview, which consists of 13 questions. I used iGoogle and what I remember from Russian to polish the translation a bit. I apologize in advance for any translation mistakes and please feel free to make any corrections. Here is something (better than nothing in the meantime). Enjoy, Marat the philosopher
:
«HAPPINESS DOESN’T EXIST. IT IS AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT »
At the end of the conversation your correspondent asked Safin to answer questions from the questionnaire of the famous French writer Marcel Proust.
1. Where do you want to live?
- Somewhere where you can live. Somewhere where there is more sun. But I love my country.
2. Your main character trait?
- Good question. I do not know. It is always difficult to assess yourself. Let’s move on.
3. The quality that you value in men?
- Let me say what I do not like. I despise lies and stupidity. When I come across these, I can get beside myself. But what do I value? Decency. Not only in men, but in people in general.
4. The quality that you value in women?
- Wisdom.
5. What do you value above all in friends?
- Honesty/Sincerity.
6. Your main weakness?
- They are many. Not just one? Do not tell!
7. Your idea of happiness?
- There is no such thing as happiness. It doesn’t exist. It is an abstract concept specifically invented by people.
8. What would be the greatest misfortune for you?
- I hope I never encounter this.
9. Who would you like to be?
- I already have become who I wanted to be. I have become who I wanted to be as a child. I will not elaborate. Feel free to interpret.
10. What weaknesses do you have most tolerance/lenience toward?
- I do believe that any number of weaknesses is a disease. How can you be lenient with them? They should be treated. Whether you love to eat a lot of sweets or you smoke like chimney it is all a form of addiction/dependency.
11. Your Ideal/Your idea of perfection?
- Marcel Proust is asking incomprehensible questions. Where? In architecture, music, art? If the question relates to the ideal/perfect person, such a person does not exist. All human beings are imperfect.
12. How would you like to die?
- По барабану. Лишь бы не было больно. [This must be a Russian phrase; the online translator is giving a literal translation, which is not very meaningful. I am guessing that the phrase might mean something like: A quick and sudden death but not painful???]
13. Your motto?
- Все по фиг! [I have no idea how to translate this?] Okay, kidding. Let us choose this: «What does not kill us makes us stronger». This motto suits me.
