Ginger Syrup

I discovered ginger a few years ago in Denmark from my roommate Marketa. She was using for tea all the time and I got curious. I instantly felt in love with its flavor. If you are a spice eater like myself, this rooty herb cannot fail your taste-buds. This is a strong antioxidant which can be used in anything: food, sweets, drinks, salads, face masks...anything...and if you have a flu try eating a bit of ginger with honey and lemon.

Now, the problem with this herb is that it has a very strong taste and it's not easy to eat. In theory there can never be too much ginger, but if it is it may ruin the taste and spoil the pleasure of eating it. It's also a bit difficult to peal and cut in small slices because of it's root like texture. And...if you are lazy (like myself) you will end up not using it even though you love it.

So, I discovered this great way to easily have my bit of ginger, especially now in the cold season. I am turning it into Ginger Syrup. This potion can be the magic ingredient with a Christmasy flavor...

Ingredients:
1 cup of peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin slices
2 cups of water
1/2 cup of brown sugar
juice from 1 lemon

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add ginger and lemon juice and stir to make sure all of it is well-coated. Reduce heat and let the mixture simmer for and hour, stirring occasionally. (If you cut your ginger into larger chunks you may need more time - you will know when it's done because the ginger will be soft.)

The internet if full of ginger/ ginger syrup recipes so I hope you'll try it too.

Recipe adapted from: The Baker Chick

Oh...holiday

Winter holidays are so very different from the summer ones...still my weird self ends up being tired at the end of both. 

Summer is an exciting trip that enriches my inner with laughter, new people, new places and cool experiences. Winter on the other hand...well it's winter...a joyous period to sit and do nothing. 

But this is what I am actually longing for a whole year...I am super excited about these days full of numbness. It's just that as soon as I experience one or two, I get ridiculously bored and want to do something...but then again I don't know what to do...it's cold, and I have a flu...and I actually don't want to get out of the house because I've been waiting for a whole year to do NOTHING. And then I just end up being more tired from boredom. Maybe that's just me...a hyperactive, but not in any way constructive, person.

At least today I am saved by tea and books...but what about tomorrow?!

2013 Resolutions

2012 was a non resolutions year. I was just too busy being in love and enjoying a new life style at the end of 2011, so I got lazy. For 2013 I have decided to do a list of resolutions, and after reading this article on how to properly make resolutions, I will give my birth sign's characteristics some space and let my self evolve as the stars wanted...I am a plan maker :)

1. Meet more with friends: have at least one friend meeting/ week. I have so many friends whom I have not seen in years and they live in the same city as I do...I have been a horrible friend...I blame it on all this social media around me...

2. Work out more: my twice/ week schedule seamed to be working fine for my body...go back to that...

3. Read more: at least one book/ month.

4. Evolve professionally: decide on the right path for my adult being...do it even if it needs a self kick in the ass.

5. Volunteer more: attend a volunteering activity twice/ month (event + shelter visit).

6. Travel to a place which I have never traveled to before.

7. Take a new course - I aim for PR, Marketing, CSR or a language course.

8. Wear heels - start with once/ month :)

This is my 27th year. I want it to be marked my social interactions, professional development and what I like most communication.

Rebounding with my blog

Since Facebook took over my time, my life and most of my social activities, I had no time to blog. I find it way easier to keep track of what I am doing with all these apps and easy to update statuses and everything. The main purpose of my blog was to support my gold fish memory. I love looking back at the things I did, and most of the time my mind is bedazzled and I can't believe that's me there. But I got lazy and absorbed into technology...and eventually stopped writing.

So, here I am, probably posting my last thoughts for 2012. If I look back I think I had the fullest year in a while. After I got back and settled in Bucharest, my only adventures were the great places I visited with my job, but this year I had some "inside" adventures and it was great. I feel like I grew, but not necessarily in an adult, mature way, but in a "social" way. I had my share of stress and now I believe I know what it means and how it feels like. It sucks...the regular amount of stress I create for myself is more than enough...I do not ever want to experience the stress that others create around me. I flip easily...

As great as 2012 has been I have a feeling that 2013 will be a b(o.O)mb. My intuition, which has never failed me before, tells me that it's going to be different. I am still unsure about what I want and how to get it, but aren't we all at any age. Actually I hope I will never know and never learn how to get it, because then it will just be plain boring.

2012 words: blonde, discovering, lust, hysteria, cats, defining, understanding, wanting, beginning.

I realized that I had a really crapy list of resolutions for this year...so I am considering an outstanding one for 2013.

Mopi the cat

Adopted - November 2012

Mopi was found in the engine of a car by one of Robi's volunteers. Now she rests in my house where I will foster her until she finds her perfect family.

She's a 3 month old kitten with perfect cat senses :) For me she is a lot like the White Rabbit from Alice. She's a white cat with a grey line on her forehead...she has big green eyes, and she seams to always be in a hurry. 

She likes to watch herself in the mirror and put her paws up in defense, thinking that it might actually be another cat there. She mows for attention every time she does something, as she loves you to watch her doing cat stuff...she is a princess after all. She has no trouble playing alone, but I am sure that she would gladly share her toys and time with friends. She runs around the house and suddenly stops...probably just forgetting why she was running...She loves to curl and fluff her tail at me when we are playing...and when she can't see me, she just goes around the house mowing until she finds me.

There is no sense in saying that she is a perfectly clean cat, litter trained and careful not to stain her coat.

Mopi, just like many cats, is a stray who needs a warm house to host her and a loving family to purr at and play with forever.

If you want her, you can find her here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.401025066635845.92948.376586535746365&type=3

Motivatie?

O carte despre motivatie gasita intr-un supermarket spune ca:

"Manipularea este actiunea prin care cineva este "pacalit" sa faca ceva ce in mod normal nu ar face. Motivatia este actiunea prin care cineva este incurajat sa faca ceva de care are nevoie, dar pe care poate nu ar fi putut sa-l initieze sau sa-l duca la bun sfarsit de unul singur.

...

Ca sa-l motiveze pe jucator, antrenorul ii fixeaza niste parametrii pe care sa-i indeplineasca la antrenamente, promitandu-i un loc in prima echipa daca reuseste sa atinga acesti parametri in patru saptamani. Acesta este un exemplu de motivare. Jucatroul vrea sa isi imbunatateasca perfromantele, iar antrenorul ii spune care este directia in care se poate dezvolta, si adauga o recompensa pentru a-l ajuta sa-si indeplineasac telul.

Pe de alta parte, se poate ca la alte echipe antrenorul sa nu fie atat de sustinator si intelegator. Ba mai mult, sa spunem ca are o problema personala cu unul dintre cei mai buni jucatori. Nu s-au inteles niciodata si antrenorul abia asteapta sa scape de el. Acesta din urma gaseste un jucator mediocru caruia ii spune ca daca trage un pic mai tare la antrenamente poate ajunge titular in locul vedetei echipei. Inselator, acesta mai adauga faptul ca actuala vedeta a echipei are niste pareri nu tocmai bune despre jucator, pareri pe care le-a exprimat cand acest nu era de fata.

Aceasta conversatie il face pe jucatorul mai putin talentat sa fie suparat si razbunator in relatia cu vedeta echipei. In curand, acesta va incepe sa-i faca mici probleme vedetei ascunzandu-i echipamentul, facand in asa fel incat acesta sa intarzie la antrenamente, starnind divesre zvonuri despre el si tot felul de alte lucruri care il fac pe jucatorul emblematic sa-si mute concentrarea de la joc. Cand performantele vedetei incep sa scada, antrenorul gaseste momentul oportun pentru a-l inlocui pe acesta cu jucatorul de rezerva, aceasta fiind intentia antrenorului inca de la inceput.

...

Nevoi si actiuni motivatoare care au de obicei conotatie negativa: furia, tradarea, controlul, dezamagirea, disperarea, egoul, frica, lacomia, banii, politica, revolta, razbunarea, vanitate..."

1001 Feluri de a te motiva pe tine si pe ceilalti

Sang H. Kim

Populara discutie despre diferenta dintre un lider si un manager continua pe plan motivational. Des intalnita manipulare la locul de munca in randul "sefilor" romani nu este nimic nou pe piata muncii, mai ales in anumite industrii. Insa, orice s-ar intampla, nu trebuie niciodata sa ne lasam condusi de actiunile mai sus mentionate si mai ales sa le mentionam ca fiind motivatia noastra de a face o schimbare in timpul unui intreviu.

Cartea spune ca cea mai buna cale este sa gasesti ceea ce te motiveaza, sa porti tot timpul dupa tine un biletel pe care sa il citesti in momentele de frustrare pentru a te ajuta sa iti amintesti scopul. Cum internetul este acum plin de citate motivationale...nu este nimic dificil in asta. Eu...din carte am ales:

Multe sarcini sunt inevitabile in viata. E alegerea ta daca le faci cu zambetul pe buze sau incruntat.

Life's a sarcastic attention whore

"Exista oameni carora lucrurile cele mai bune nu le reusesc. Pot sa fie imbracati intr-un costum de casmir; tot ca niste vagabonzi o sa arate; sa fie bogati si datornici; sa fie inalti si nuli la baschet. Imi dau seama astazi, eu apartin speciei celor care nu izbutesc sa-si rentabilizeze avantajele, pentru ca aceste avantaje sunt chiar niste inconveniente.

Adevarul iese din gura copiilor. La scoala primara, o insulta josnica era sa fii tratat de "telecutual"; mai tarziu a fi intelectual devine aproape o calitate. Dar e o minciuna: inteligenta este o tara. Asa cum cei vii stiu ca vor muri, dar cei morti nu stiu nimic, eu cred ca a fii inteligent este mai rau decat sa fii prost, pentru ca un prost nu-si da seaam ce-i cu el, pe cand cineva inteligent, chiar daca-i umil si modest tot o stie.

In Eccesiastul scrie ca cel ce isi inmulteste stiinta isi sporeste suferinta; dar, neavand niciodata fericirea sa merg la catehism cu ceilalti copii, nu am fst prevenit de pericolele studiului. Crestinii au mare noroc ca sunt de foarte tineri pusi in garda impotriva riscului inteligentei; ei vor sti, toata viata, sa se fereasca de ea. Fericiti cei saraci cu duhul.

.....

Inteligenta este un rateu al evolutiei. Imi imaginez perfect, pe vremea primilor oameni preistorici, in sanul unui mic trib, toti copiii alargand prin hatisuri, fugarind soparle, culegand fructe pentru cina; treptat, in contact cu adultii, invatand sa devina barbati si femei desavarsiti: vanatori, culegatori, pescari, tabacari...Dar privind mai atent viata acestui trib, observ ca unii copii nu participa la activitatile grupului: raman asezati langa foc, la adapost, in interiorul pesterii. Ei nu vr sti niciodata sa se apere in fata tigrilor cu dinti de sabie, nici sa vaneze; lasati singuri, nu ar supravietui nici o singura noapte. Daca-si petrec zilele nefacand nimic, nu e din lene, nu, si-ar dori sa zburde cu camarzii lor, dar nu pot. Natura, aducandu-i pe lume, a dat un rateu. In tribul asta, exista o fetita oarba, un baiatel schiop, un altul neindemanatic si neatent...Ei stau toata ziua in tabara, si cum nu au nimic de facut iar jocurile video nu au fost inca inventate, sunt nevoiti sa reflecteze si sa-si lase gandurile sa vagabondeze. Si isi petrec timpul gandind, incercand sa decripteze lumea, scornind povesti si inventii. Asa s-a nascut civilizatia: pentru ca niste copilandri imperfecti nu aveau nimic altceva de facut. Daca natura n-ar fi mutilat pe nimeni, daca tiparul ar fi fost de fiecare data fara cusur, omenirea ar fi ramas o specie de proto-hominizi, fericita, fara nici o intentie de progres, traind foarte bine fara Prozac, fara prezervative si reader dolby digital DVD.

.....

Sa consideri ca cineva este inteliget, cu judecata, nu depinde de diplome; nu exista nici un test IQ pentru a dezvalui ceea ce am putea numi bunul simt.

.....

Prostia oamenilor nu se trage din lipsa de inteligenta, ci din lipsa lor de curaj."

M-am hotarat sa devin prost

Martin Page

Find your SHTICK

Paul Renaud taught us something very interesting yesterday about the importance of having that something that has you remembered to other people and gets them attracted to you. This is of course a marketing concept that can be applied to any type of branding, including personal branding, that very popular thing nowadays, with all the freelancers "running" around. That special power is nothing more than a shtick. 

The easiest road to success once you identify your special power is to "listen to the music". Pay attention to everything around you and of course give your best shot everytime. Music is after all an international language...so do not worry about barriers...they are all in your head.

Not very long ago, I joined the world of recruiters....in a modest way. I love research and I love talking to people, so the job is nothing but a pleasure for me. During Paul's presentation yesterday I realized that I always ask my candidates to identify their shtick. I usually ask for qualities other people find in them and then qualities they find in themselves. Surprisingly, or not, these don't match. For me this is surprising because people are clearly aware of their shtick (the qualities seen by others), but would rather define themselves differently and aim for something else. Weird...

I remember I was once in this situation when I did my 360 degrees LSI  and realized that I see my self as a very red aggressive person, with not so much empathy to share, while people were seeing me as a very blue helpful individual. I did not go through with the test until the end and didn't try to understand what I should change (tests are stupid right?! especially when the result is not exactly what you would have liked to hear :P). Now this got me thinking...There are though many other feelings that change our normal state of mind in various moments, and for me injustice is the worse. Every time I get the slightest feeling of betrayal I flip...sometime I can just smell it around me...and not always, but most of the time, I get to be proven right...which is very heartbreaking for me and it totally ruins my balance.

So, in the end, I guess it is not that easy to carry the shtick. The burden of being as others see us all the time, can be a cloth too heavy to wear on a daily basis. So maybe that's why subconsciously we choose to see and think of ourselves differently!?

Anyway, if you would ever like to become a "brand" at any level (global, local, at work or at home) you have to identify, accept and carry your shtick with you all the time. No time off what so ever, but this could be your road to success. I am sure at the end it's just a matter of perspective.

So, what is your shtick?!

My 26th Summer

My summer is not over, but the best part of it just ended - the summer holiday. If I could only have my share of the three months of "nothing to do in summer" that I used to have when in school.

2012 Summer Holiday:
Bucharest - Transalpina - Sibiu - Apuseni Mountains - Alba Iulia - Doftana - Bucharest

To get to Sibiu we took a special route - Transalpina known as "The Road of Kings". This is the highest and most beautiful road in Romania. The road is around 2000 years old and has been used both by the Romans to pass the Carpathians and the Germans in WW2. Its maximum hight reaches 2145 m and the view from there is spectacular.

We started with a well known festival in Sibiu - ArtMania. The festival is already an August tradition for the city, and the city is an island of non-romanian stuff in Romania. Sibiu still looks like the European Capital of Culture. Die Toten Hosen brought a lot of Germans to Sibiu, so for at least a couple of days we were surrounded by Deutsch blondes. I was also really happy to see Alternosfera (a small Moldavian band I've known since highschool).

The real adventure only started when we reached the mountains. Our plan was to visit Apuseni National Park, known for the glaciers that it hides and the wonderful karst fragments. We made as many routes as we could in the three days we had. We arrived on Sunday evening and had two nights of sleep in a mountain house (it was pretty modern so not the typical chalet) and were planning to sleep outside in our tents for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately in August, 40 degrees Celsius in Bucharest turn into 10 degrees Celsius in the mountains, with really low temperatures at night. So we spent one night in the tent and the other night in a trailer.

1st day
Cetatile Ponorului
(caves and top of the mountain views)

2nd day

Barsa Pit 

(glaciers, caves and lakes inside mountains)

The 2nd day gave us a story to tell forever. When we arrived at Barsa pit we heard a child crying inside the cave where the glacier is. A family was trapped...they entered the pit with no equipment what so ever to take photos, and the mother slipped on the glacier's ice and had a foot stuck in a crack. She was lucky she got stuck because otherwise the ice would have swallowed her into the mountains deep. It was really difficult for the boys to get them out of there, because she was freezing, almost hypothermic, and extremely scared. 

3rd day

The Yellow Gorges

(rocks, water coming out of the mountain's heart and top of the mountain views)

We ended our beautiful mountain trip with a long drive to Alba Iulia. This was my second time in the city and for the same good reason - Dark Bombasting Evening (DBE 4) - an underground music festival where you feel like home. While last year I focused more on the citadel - DBE 2011 this year I focused more on the festival.

A lot more people joined the festival, mostly foreigners, which was a really pleasant surprise. We all cracked on Friday, the first night of the festival, and then had to relax and recharge our batteries on Saturday. Great atmosphere, great music, great food and great people. It was a really nice way to end our holiday before heading for the city.

We got home more tired than we left, but much more relaxed. Unfortunately siting at the office is not as wonderful as climbing mountains...and it's even much more tiering.

My Summer of George has one more thing on the list...splash around the Black Sea...then it will be officially over :)

Hotul de carti

O mica teorie:

Oamenii observa culorile unei zile numai la sfarsit si la inceput, dar pentru mine este destul de clar ca ea combina o multitudine de nuante si tonuri, cu fiecare moment care trece. O singura ora poate consta in mii de culori diferite. Galbenuri ceruite, nunate de albastru patate pe nori. Intunecimea de nepatruns. In domeniul meu, mi se pare important sa le observ. 

O carte al carui povestitor este Moartea. O poveste care rasuceste moneda si analizeaza situatia nemtilor de pe strada Himmel (= Rai). O strada dintr-un oras nu foarte mare, prins in istorie la inceputurile unei noi ideologii - nazismul. Personajul principal, Liesel, un mic arian care interactionaza cu lumea prin ochi de copil si imbratiseaza Moartea celor din jur si in final pe a sa.

Hotul de carti

Markus Zusak

Teambuilding in Brasov

This weekend we had our first team building at Kilpatrick in Romania. Bucharest and Timisoara, along a small part of Milan met in Brasov for a weekend of fun. And needless to say it really was fun.

I left Bucharest later than everyone else and traveled by train to Brasov. I must say that I haven't been in a Romanian train for a long time...and I was utterly impressed. Clean, not crowded, restaurant wagon, air conditioning...that does not sound like the trains I used to know.

We didn't spend much time in Brasov, but I can say that we went to the best part of it: Park Aventura. I have heard about this place before, but it was my first and surely not last time here. Not very expensive for the fun you have: 39 ron/ 3 hours of adventures. You have different levels of difficulty: yellow (kiddie ride); green (very low difficulty); 2*blue (low difficulty); 2*green (difficult); red (very difficult); black (extremely difficult) and a zip line over a small lake.

In three hours we did 1 blue, two greens and the lake zip line. Not only our time was up, but we were also really tired and didn't have enough strength to do more. To do the difficult ones, you need to save up energy and maybe have a jar of honey like Yogy :)

Every "game" was different and exciting, and you were getting higher, and higher above ground. You cannot quit or stop, and you have to really push yourself even when you think that you can't do it anymore. For me one of the games really pushed my limits, mind and body. It took me half an hour to travel from one side to the other on 10 logs, but it was worth it...the others seamed piece of cake. For everyone in our team one game was the hardest...

The rest of the trip was really quality time spent together, unfortunately we were all too tired to party all night long and crashed early. But still we had walks and talks, we played games and enjoyed a cool weather from the mountains before heading back to the concrete jungle. 

My civic spirit prevailed

In June last year I tried acting like a responsible citizen of Romania. Long story short I tried to convince authorities to come and clean a piece of land in front of my parents flat house.

http://serendipitous-doll.blogspot.ro/2011/06/lulu-acting-responsible-towards-garbage.html

One year later and it's been done. They identified the owner of the land and made him clean it. I was super surprised when I went home this Monday to see all the garbage picked up and well as the bushes trimmed.

Now this is one small step because this was just in front of our flat house. Similar pieces of land are surrounding this place and hopefully they will manage to force the other owners to clean them. I also hope that this isn't just a one time thing and they will pursue in the future, maybe not just but threatening the owner, but also fining the ones who are throwing garbage there.

Adopt Monet the ca(in)ter

ADOPTED - June 2012

Monet is my new 3 months old tiger looking for a home.

He's been found up on top of a tree crying his lungs out for somebody to get him down from there. How he got up there if he's so small? Well Monet is not your ordinary cat. He's a naturally born jumper/ climber/ alpinist. Sometimes he is more like a dog than a cat. He runs around the house like a cat on ecstasy and makes sure he gets in places before us. Once there, he drops on his back with his tummy up to make sure you give him a tickle.

He is an adorable baby who needs love and somebody to play with. He would be the ideal cat if you already have a cat :)

City of Craiova

Last Friday I woke up with a sudden urge to go somewhere during the weekend. That's how the idea of visiting Craiova came up. It wasn't really as random as it may sound...but with was good serendipity.

Craiova was a surprise for me. I went there years ago for a translation job at Ford, but didn't actually visit it, so this can be considered my first time. A city full of linden trees, so you can imagine the smell surrounding you in most areas. A beautiful park and a newly renovated city center. It is not promoted as a touristic city at all, but it could be a good place to live in. Pretty quite, easy to get from one point to another, perfect place to have a bike and use it everyday, you have bars, clubs (not the best ever, but could be improved) and parks to go to.

Romania's smaller cities are poorly developed from the labour market's point of view and that's such a pity because these places could be a good place to enjoy life.

Just your average cat Mirela

ADOPTED - JUNE 2012

Mirela is ready to go home. No more scared, she proves to be a normal, loving and playful kitten waiting for her ideal family to come and get her. 

In one week of love, good  food and a soft bed to sleep in, she turned from this almost wild cat into a perfect apartment cat. She enjoys her space, her toys and her humans very much.

She still offers free kitty massages as soon as you hold her and purrs like an industrial machine :)

She's clean and only uses the litter box. She's not very picky when it comes to food. She's quite and allows you to have your personal space as well. 

Yesterday (22.05) I received a call from one of Asociatia Robi's volunteers. They all have kittens and cats with baby kittens fostered at home, so they needed somebody to pick up this 2 months old cat just found under a car the night before. Willing I said yes, and there was Mirela standing in my arms later that evening, after picking her up from the guys who found her.

The tragic story of a some kittens whose mother got ran over by a car, left in the basement of an apartment building when they were to young to take care of themselves. First thought of as being 5...and acknowledge that they were actually 6 (some ladies took them in their care and offered them for a adoption). But there came the 7th - Mirela. After spending days alone in the basement she got brave enough to discover the world...on a cold, windy and rainy day. As soon as she got out she crawled under a car and started crying.

She's still scared, but so very loving. She purrs and offers free kitty massages every time you take her into your arms.

Jestering

A simple book that doesn't reveal any secrets, but makes common sense obvious to its readers. It encourages communication, polite communication.

My favorite story form the book:

Batranul, etica personala si scorpionul


Intr-o dimineata, dupa ce a terminat de meditat, batranul a deschis ochii si a vazut un scorpion plutind neputincios pe apa. Pe masura ce batranul privea, scorpionul se apropria de o radacina mai lunga si a s-a intins sa salveze creatura de la inec.

De indata ce batranul a atins scorpionul, acesta l-a intepat. Instinctiv, omul si-a retras mana. Un pic mai tarziu, dupa ce si-a recastigat echilibrul, batranul s-a prins din nou de radacina si s-a intins sa salveze scorpionul. De aceasta data, scorpionul l-a intepat atat de tare cu coada sa otravita, incat mana a inceput sa i se umfle si sa se inroseasca, iar fata i s-a contorsionat de durere.

Dupa un moment, omul a incercat sa ajunga iar la scoprion. Exact atunci, un trecator l-a vazut pe batran tinandu-se de radacini, intins la maximum, luptandu-se sa salveze scorpionul si a strigat:
Hei, batran naiv, ce e in neregula cu tine? Doar un nebun si-ar risca viata de dragul unei creaturi malefice si urate. Nu-ti dai seama ca ai putea sa mori incercand sa salvezi scorpionul acela nerecunoscator?

Batranul a intors capul. S-a uitat in ochii strainului si a spus calm:
Prietene, numai pentru ca sta in firea scorpionului sa intepe, nu schimba firea mea, care ma face sa incerc sa-l salvez.

www.corporatejester.com

Bufon in corporatie

David T. Riveness

Restored nightstand

I love antiques and could easily live in a furniture museum :) I own several pieces of "old" decoration objects, but not furniture. It's not easy to get old furniture in an already furnished house, but maybe some day I will have at least a room.

I managed to get an old coffee table form one of my neighbors who was planning to throw it away. It's a '60s Romanian hand made coffee table which I will turn into a nightstand.

Restoration steps:

1. cleaning - it has paint stains all over it

2. removing the old paint layer

3. cleaning, polishing and applying an oil base

4. applying the new layer of paint - it's going to be black :)

Yoda my ✰

ADOPTED  - May 2012

My new fostered baby cat - Yoda, little whiskered tiger.

His not a shy boy, though he's only 1 month old. He likes to discover, always ready for an enemy attack with super energy powers. He argues with strong meawing arguments when something is not right.When he's tired he loves to snuggle and purr. A true star in need of attention and affection.

He loves his litterbox and would never use anything else.

"Summer of George"

Summer's basically around the corner - I already have my tan on.

Short term plans work better, so here's my 26th summer's list:
- foster kitties
- sun bath and splash in the Black Sea
- hike around in the mountains
- new places to discover: Romania
- concerts and festivals - OST, BestFest, ArtMania, DBE (Alba Iulia)
- go to the gym
- improve driving skills
- read and sleep :)

Din carti

- Stii, ma gandeam daca nu cumva oamenii isi folosesc amintirile pe post de combustibil. Ca sunt importante sau nu, asta nu conteaza cand e vorba sa te mentii in viata. Sunt combustibili si atat. Ca e reclma de ziar, carte de filosofie, gravura erotica sau un teanc de bancnote de zece mii de yeni, daca le pui pe foc, toate sunt doar niste bucati de hartie. Focul nu se gandeste " Oho, asta e Kant", "Asta e Yomiuri, editia de seara" sau "Mama, ce tate are" cand le arde. Pentru el toate nu sunt nimic mai mult decta simple bucati de hartie, La fel si cu amintirile. Ca sunt importante, ca nu sunt importante, ca nu folosesc la nimic, toate sunt combustbil, fara nici o diferenta.

In noapte

Haruki Murakami

Hategului Country Spring Trip

We took advantage of our Easter holiday and the extended weekend to take a great trip in Transilvania. Our main target Tara Hategului. The area is full of history and interesting places to visit. In our 3 day trip we didn't manage to see everything, but we saw I'd say the most relevant parts of it. Tara Hategului was a volcanic island in the Cretaceous Period, so it lasted in time as a bondage between the dinosaur period and human history.

We started from Bucharest to Sibiu as our "getting to" route. The plan was to go from Sibiu to Orastie where we could visit the old Dacian citadel of Sarmisegetuza Regia. A very long and tiering trip, but worth every second of it.

From Orastie to Sarmisegetuza Regie the road was a pain. It took us 2 hours to get there by car on a very bumpy countryside road. We were lucky that at least the area has all the visiting places marked,  otherwise we would have never gotten there...you feel as if you are going nowhere. This was the capital and the most important military, religious and political centre of the Dacians. Erected on top of a 1,200 meter high mountain, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orastie Mountins, comprising six citadels. Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital of Dacia prior to the wars with the Roman Empire.

Sarmisegetuza Regia is from my point of view the best place we visited. The Dacian citadel stands tall. The area has very beautiful landscapes and if you have your eyes and mind open you realize that you are surrounded by history and beauty. Everything is build in circles, so it gives a feeling of union.

Around it there are two other important citadels, Blidaru and Costesti. We only visited Costesti as it was closer...to get to Blidaru you have to walk a bit though the forest and we were running a bit of of time and were a bit lazy and tired from the road.

Next stop - Hateg our sleeping hub, where we stayed a super beautiful motel - Art Motel (http://www.rohotels.ro/hoteluri-hateg/hotel-art-motel). 

We ended the day with a beautiful rainbow. 

Though we didn't have the best evening in the world, we woke up the next day ready for another trip.

The plan was simple - Hunedoara (Hunyad Castle) - Sanmaria Orlea (Dinosaur Park) - Sarmisegetuza (Ulpia Traiana Augusta) - Retezat National Park (Gura Apelor Dam).

Hunayd Castle - Castelul Corvinestilor - was finished in 1315 and in 1316 King was already established in the new castle, where he lived almost eight years. The castle is a beautiful piece of medieval architecture. It has been restored, but still you cannot visit all the rooms. Also, the castle just like many castles in Romania is empty - no furniture left. There are many legends related to this place as well as John the Hunyad and their house's symbol - a crow with a golden ring in its peak. A much better place to visit than Bran Castle - Dracula's Castle.

Unfortunately the Communist period destroyed the landscape completely. Ceusescu, who showed no respect to history what so ever, built a large industrial park just in front of the castle that even now stands tall like a sad monument of pain. Luckily the castle is so beautiful that once you turn around you forget about everything.

Curiosity pushed me to visit the dinosaur park. Since Hategului Country is such an old piece of land, in the area they discovered the remains of small dinosaurs. The area is promoted as being a park so I my passion for dinosaurs pushed me to go there. The park is on the way from Hateg to Sanmaria Orlea. What you should find here is the valley of the dinosaurs, the hill of the dinosaurs, the hills of granite and a traditional old village. Yes...ahm....there was nothing there, just a beautiful landscape. Still on our way we went through this really Irish area...green hills, road surrounded by trees...Also we saw a different type of castles - gypsy "houses"

And here is the Dinosaur Park, don't get me wrong I was not expecting Jurassic Park, especially since it is from the Cretaceous period...but I was kinnda the only dinosaur there. I'm really happy we went though, the landscape was spectacular.

Fairly disappointed we turned back with our minds to Ulpia Traiana Augusta. A lot of churches and holy places to visit on this way, but the only interesting ones I found where a medieval church and and evangelistic one.

Ulpia Traiana Augusta is a waste of time. I don't have anything against the Romans, but it's utterly boring. The place seams to be more popular though. It's really easy to get there, they also have a place to eat (bad food, bad bad bad music...) The citadel is bigger than Regia, but it has nothing to see except for a pile of stones in the form of buildings and temples.

Last stop - Gura Apelor Dam. This is the biggest mountain rock built (arocamente) dam in Europe. Retezat National Park is perfection....our road there was bumpy due to rocks fallen from the mountain in the middle of the road, but it was simply beautiful. I obviously found a stray dog even there...a beautiful wolf who ate all my biscuits.

The trip was a real success when it comes to the places we visited. I would do it 100 times again and wish we had better roads to get from one place to the other faster. Somehow I am grateful that tourism in Romania is poorly promoted. These places would have not been the same if we where not, almost, the only visitors there. The weather was on our side, it was always raining when we got into the car, but very warm and sunny when we got out.

My plan of visiting Romania more seams to be working out well. In the past years I've seen really beautiful places I did not know of and were so close to me.

We ended the trip with a return road through Jiului Valley. The strong river pierces through the mountains like a needle. It creates a spectacular view as it streams down. Too bad that from place to place you could see hundreds of plastic bottles floating around forming islands....too bad.

Our last stop was Targu Jiu, the town of the famous Brancusi. The park was very crowded so we barely managed to take a couple of photos.

Holy Land - North of Israel & Jerusalem

My weekend in Israel was full of history and culture. We had a great guide who didn't focus as much on the religious part of the stories, but also on the political issues. She had a joke for each story - religious or not. The land bears the signs of the passing of time. History has been very generous with this territory and there is really a lot to learn. The green lands that I saw now used to be nothing by desert. With a great water system built by the Americans, Israel has water all over the country from only one source - the Jordan. Where there wasn't desert, there were swamps and this is where you find many eucalyptus trees, especially brought from Australia. The country has a great infrastructure. Probably the best roads I've seen so far.

A strange observation I made is that they have mostly white cars. White or dark blue and grey. You rarely see a red car, but no yellow, green, baby blue...etc.

First day - North of Israel
I can't even remember everything we visited...there were so many churches and holy places...just too much for me. The only thing that struck me was the origin of the word Armageddon which comes from Maggidon - some hills in the North of Israel that have been a continuos battle field for many years since ancient time.

The country is also divided between Jewish towns and Arab towns. They each live in their own world and interact only little on common holidays. You can certainly see and feel the differences...Palestine is still there.

Second day - Jerusalem

This city was tiering. It's a mix of Orthodox Jews and Arabs. Busy, full of tourists and very noisy. You do have a feeling of warmth while visiting the Mountain of Olives or the Western Wall, but it doesn't last long because the next group of tourists is pushing you out :) 

These are the places we will all see when the Savior will come. This is the gate through which we will pass for our judgment :D Some already have front row seats, the hills around the gate and the golden dome are full of graves. It's like a large open cemetery in the middle of a city.

The Meeting
The meeting was great! We had a good time together...I had my own presentations which went out well and a successful client event.

I ate so much...Israel has great food and my love for spicy food has been satisfied.

Hopefully more to come...next year should be Cape Town...sounds good I'd say.

Holy Land - Tel Aviv & Jaffa

Who would have thought about Israel...another year, another IESF Regional Meeting and another pin on my personal world map.

The trip is fine so far. We flew with I think, the oldest plane Tarom had, with a large group of Christians (Orthodox). They were with their priest and their nun traveling to the holly places before Easter. I was so lucky to sit just behind the priest. Adelina and I were convinced that no matter how old that plane would have been with a priest in front nothing could have happened or at last we would end up in Heaven for sure. 

It's not as easy to get into Israel, especially if you are a young girl with light hair. As you don't need a visa we didn't bother our heads with invitations and other official stuff, but it turned out that such a paper would have served us well. First a girl stopped and interrogated us just as we got off the plane" "Where are you going?" "Why?" "With who?"...etc etc...very in depth questions, by the way. As if that wasn't enough we got even more questions at passport control...so it took a while until we were actually in Tel Aviv.

The Taxi driver ripped us off of course, but when you come from a country where this is normal...it doesn't bother you, you expect it.

Tel Aviv is different. Sunny weather, beautiful beach...but a city which makes you feel as if you are nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It's a complex mix of American/ European/ Arabic infrastructure and architecture. On one road you feel like in Miami, then you feel like in Milan and a few streets away like in Greece. The city is actually being rebuild. They are "restoring"...which means that they practically take down the whole building but a wall, and then build something new :)

Though the state is strongly militarized you don't feel that on the street, or you somehow expect it. They check you every time you enter the hotel, there are planes and helicopters going back and forth, but I only saw armed police men once. You don't feel any threat...By the way, the military is mandatory here. After highschool girls go for 2 years and boys for 3. After that, boys have to go in every year for one month. They don't serve the government, they serve the nation (that's what they say). So basically everyone here knows how to shoot a gun.

The people are also a weird mix. I can't tell a certain common physical trait they have. They look Jewish indeed, but I can't say why. Some of them have a very light - gingerish figure and others are a bit darker. There are no blondes here for sure, but otherwise...Still, I do identify them with the people in this region. They don't look European or American...

I missed staying in this nice hotels and I was so looking forward to sleeping in these super mega soft beds...We have a great view also :D

On our first day, just before the IESF dinner, we got to travel around bit. First we went to Dror's office where we learned about this strange tradition. People here are strongly connected by their religion and their religion becomes their law. For example it a state law that restaurants are not allowed to serve meat and diary at the same time. So if you have diary in your restaurant, there will be no meat for sure (except fish). ***though, there's no state law on Kosher in restaurants regarding dairy and meat - even McDonald's serve cheeseburgers. Many restaurants, however, do have Kosher certificates issued by the rabbinic authorities, after the owners had voluntarily applied for them.

Another thing is that they have at the entrance of each door a wooden thing which inside has a scripture from the Bible which protects the room you enter.

I can't say that we visited Tel Aviv from Dror's car, because we didn't really have time to see everything. The only thing we actually visited in Tel Aviv is the old train station and Jaffa...a placed filled with catttsss (all females were neutered by the way :) beautiful place...

EPSO Exam

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar."

~ Raymond Lindquist

I think this is going to be a year of experimenting. I decree thus 2012 as a "trying the water with the tip of my toe" year :)

Today I took my first EPSO exam for the position of Communication Officer for the European Institutions Not because I'm looking for a job, but because I love challenging myself.

I think everybody should try it. Not necessarily because it offers the opportunity to work abroad for a EU body, but because the test is really fun. Before taking it I read a lot of things about it and was a bit scared. They were saying that there are special courses and books training you for this. But shhh you don't need that if you still got your 6th grade math skills with you and a bit of common sense. But, if I pass I am officially a genius :)

The test has 6 levels - verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning and professional capabilities (accuracy and precision, prioritizing and organizing and situational judgment). The difficulty stands mostly in the fact that each of them has to be solved in a certain period of time. For example in the verbal reasoning you have 20 questions (texts that need to be read) in 35 minutes. I did feel the pressure and in the numerical section I failed to answer a question because I was out of time.

There is nothing difficult in the questions per se. As I was saying the numerical are 6th grade - calculating percentage mostly. In the abstract reasoning you have to continue a raw of figures with the missing one. This is my favorite game, though I mostly fail :) but it was fun to remember the Mickey Mouse magazines I used to collect which had this type of exercises.

I'll get my results in about a month, hope I don't forget by then.

My Blonde Experience

So, I am blonde. A short haired blonde and not just any. It's not going to last for sure, I am not the type of girly girl going to the salon to dye her hair every month...I am way to lazy for that. But until I go back to my roots I am definitely enjoying my blonde days. The Wella Trend Vision 2012 show was an experience. It is hard being a model and I think this has been my first and last time on stage :)

Opinions are split. Some say that I look better and more radiant like this, even less evil :P. Others think that I look ok, but I am better as a brunette. I don't know what to say, I kinda got used to being a blonde and I sometimes feel better. We went out last Friday and I was among the few blondes there and I felt so good. Blonde definitely makes you stand out of the crowed.

The down side is that roots grow faster than I thought, I have to take care that my face is always fresh because any blemish looks like a huge pimple and make up is absolutely mandatory (at least eyeliner). I've been told about this and I always thought it's just blonde people whining around, but now I take all that back.

I love my blonde days and am extremely happy to have had this opportunity.

My Blonde Day(aries)

Never say never!

That's one lesson for me to learn at the beginning of 2012. You will not believe it (I still don't) but I am....wait for it....BLONDE.

I am attending the Wella Trend Vision 2012 show with Cristina, my (our) hairstylist. I am in the Grace - Trend Vision - Haute Couture section. This means that starting today and until Wednesday when we have the final presentation I have to pretend that I'm a model, a graceful one.

Today, I spent my whole day between bleaching and coloring my hair and eyebrows, and learning the choreography for the stage. I also chose my dress...and the belt for it (great belt by the way, I hope I get to keep it as a souvenir). After my photo modeling for Radu and the hair modeling for Cristina, I can tell you that being a model is not an easy job. 

Falling through life

This week I've experienced the most horrifying possibility through which a 26th year old person's life could end.

I can't really call Lucia a friend, it would not be proper. I share with her my deepest passion - stray animals, and spent my summer with her at fairs and different adoption events. We both love cats especially, so we used to chit chat about this all the time. By chance two weeks ago I started a project at work with her sister, Raluca. Weird coincidence, but the world is not that big after all and I got used to it.

A weird phone conversation with Raluca almost had me collapsing from my chair. Last week we were talking about Lucia and it all seamed fine and now all of a sudden Raluca's scared voice gave me the worst news ever - Lucia had suffered a septic shock. The disease din not have any noticeable symptoms so it was nothing but a shocking surprise.

The doctors knew what she had, but did not know why, so they didn't really know what to do with her. Her lungs and right leg seamed to be the problem. A huge campaign was started for blood donations. She needed thrombocytes, and because Romania, especially Bucharest lacks blood donors, there were non available. They finally managed to get some from other cities so she could be taken through surgery on her right leg.

This is how Lucia in two days went from being normal, with a slight pain in her leg, to a septic shock, to inducted coma and with her leg split in two in search of dead tissue.

Without a clear diagnostic, Lucia is still in hospital. Though she was taken out of the inducted coma she is still on random treatment, as her results did not come yet. It seams to be a mix of viruses - S. Aureus and probably Lyme disease.

Though they had to go through an unpredictable shock, they had to fight with the doctors and the Romanian medical system to make things go faster, her family and friends stood by her strong. It is amazing how many people got involved in the case and did what they could to help a 26th year old continue her life.

Unfortunately all I could do is promote the case. My weight is below the donor's accepted level, so I am not allowed to donated blood. I promise that when I reach the necessary weight, I will become a blood donor. I am sure that Lucia is only one of those many young people fighting for their life right now.

I hope she will get well and go home to her beloved cats :)

Lucia died on the 26th of February 2012....

TwoZeroOneTwo

I never finished my last story...and never continued the story of my 2011. All I can do now is wrap it up...

I've had a great 2011 (the year of my 25th). Visited new places (Zurich and Bangkok), made new friends, learned new things - Spanish and driving :)....but most of all discovered more things about myself. There are a couple of people who made my year, especially my summer, and though it might be a bit different this year, it's all going to be here, recorded on my egocentric blog.

TwoZeroOneTwo started perfectly...with snow! Now there's so much snow that I kinda regret ever wishing for it. It continued perfectly, with my wallet stolen on the bus, and so a brand new set of documents. It took me till about last week, when I received a new credit card and driving license to recover most of the things I had. That's exactly 1 month...considering that I declared them lost and not stolen...easier.

I recently moved again, in a different part of Bucharest - different nice story - and I'm actually discovering my own city now... I think I'm going to develop a bit on this in a further post. It's interesting how you live for 25 years in a city and at some point you discover that there's actually more to it than you thought.

Short term plans - spring's gonna make me:

- work on my creative side again, I miss making stuff...

- experience my blonde side...Wella Trend Vision 2012 here I come

- cook again...ol' Denmark life style getting back to me...I kinda like it

- new places to discover: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the North of Israel

- read, watch movies, do nothing :)

- turn 26 and leave behind the first quarter of my life