Holiday 2013

Another summer holiday passed, leaving behind some great experience.

This year we started early in June with a weekend at the seaside in beautiful Vama Veche. This year's first seaside trip was one to remember. Two others followed in Vama Veche and Mamaia (something very new for me). My conclusion would be that, no matter what, Vama Veche remains my first option for a holiday by the seaside in Romania. It is not as it used to be, and you can see the changes as the years pass, but it still is the place where you can spend your whole night on the beach and see the sunrise while listening to Bolero, the place where you can take a swim naked during sunrise, the place where you can put your tent in an old lady's garden and enjoy the shadow of her orchard...and many more small things that make this place so big.

We also had our share of mountains that started with the trip to Bran. Unfortunately this year we did not take so many mountain trips as we wanted. Still we did breath the fresh air...we drove on both Romania's highest altitude roads: Transfagarasan (2,034 metres altitude) and Transalpina (2,145 meters altitude). We took the roads on our way to Sibiu and back. After experiencing both roads, I recommend Transalpina for its beautiful peak views, but they are both spectacular and worth taking. 

Sibiu equals ArtMania now. A super festival I love, and felt in love with even more this year, after a great Lacrimosa concert in pouring rain. This is definitely a festival I will visit for a third year in a row in 2014. The city, the people and the bands are worth 1 million concerts in Bucharest. 

The other small things that made my summer are the Rammstein concert in Bucharest, all the cats I fostered, taking care of my own cats while my parent's were on holiday, spending some time with my sister and helping her save some newly born abandoned puppies....and the joy brought by the people around me :)

Stop abandonului, sterilizeaza!

In fiecare an, asociatiile pentru protectia animalelor primesc sute de solicitari de ajutor pentru pui de catei sau pisici abandonati, chiar de cand sunt fatati, in pungi si cutii in spatele blocului, in gradina blocului, in tramvai, la metrou etc. 

Se pare ca oamenilor le este mai usor sa abandoneze aceste suflete, constienti ca ii condamna la moarte, decat sa isi sterilizeze/ castreze animalele de companie. Pare greu de crezut ca in ziua de astazi, cand este atat de usor sa te informezi, oamenii aleg crima in locul sterilizarii, dar aceasta este realitatea.

Uneori o fac pentru ca "este bine sa lasi animalul sa faca pui macar o data" sau pentru ca au impresia ca sterilizarea este un proces complicat si costisitor. Nimic mai fals!

Avantajele sterilizarii/ castrarii sunt multiple si benefice atat pentru animale, cat si pentru oameni (mai ales pentru noi, cei ce ne chinuim sa recuperam "gunoiul" altora).

Asociatia Robi (www.4animals.ro), alaturi de multe alte asociatii ofera sterilizari gratuite de ani de zile. Daca aveti un animal si nu aveti posibilitatea de a il sterliza/ castra informati-va despre programele de sterilizari sau abordati cabinetele ce ofera acest serviciu gratuit.

Povestiti celor din jur despre avantajele sterilizarii/ castrarii si incurajati-i la randul lor sa povesteasca mai departe. 

Despre sterilizare
http://www.4animals.ro/sfaturi-utile/despre-sterilizare/

Sterlizari gratuite
http://www.4animals.ro/category/campanii-si-proiecte/stop-abandonului-sterilizeaza/

Doneaza!

Imi amintesc fericirea pe care o simteam cand eram mica (mai exact pe la inceputul anilor '90) cand primeam "ajutoare" din strainatate. Ajungeau la mine prin bunica mea care era infirmiera la spitalul din Gaesti sau prin mama mea, profesoara la o scoala pentru copii cu dizabilitati de vedere. Nu era nimic special acolo decat cateva hainute, plastelina, carioci, culori cerate, ceva jucarii de plus si joculete. O gramada de prostiute care deveneau jucariile mele si cele mai pretioase comori din dulap.

Asa ca, imi place sa intorc aceasta bucurie incercand de fiecare data sa imi donez lucrurile. De cativa ani imi fac cu regularitate curat in dulap si "scap" de lucrurile pe care nu le mai folosesc: jucarii, carti, gablonturi, genti, incaltaminte, haine, aparate electronice etc. Sunt sigura ca nu sunt singura care are cel putin un moment de shopping compulsiv si dupa o luna/ doua isi da seama fie ca nu a purtat niciodata acel lucru, fie ca de fapt mai avea ceva foarte similar, fie ca acum poarta numai obiectul acela vestimentar si altele au ramas uitate pe raft. Ca sa nu fac erori imi donez lucrurile la sfarsit de sezon, cand inainte de a le pune la naftalina, trec prin ele si selectez tot ce nu am purtat in acel sezon si are sanse mari sa nu mai fie purtat de acum. La inceput nu mi-a fost usor. Ma atasez cu usurinta de obiecte si imi e greu sa dau ceva ce imi apartine...asa exercitiul se transforma si intr-un tratament foarte bun.

Ce fac cu lucrurile?

Din prima tura de curatenie am vandut multe obiecte, in special vestimentare/ electronice, prin contul meu de Okazii. Erau lucruri noi sau care aveau o oarecare valoare. Jumatate din tot ceea ce vindeam donam la Asociatia Robi.

O mare parte din lucrurile mele a ajuns la un eveniment caritabil de suflet: Save and Shop, Care and Give. Un proiect caritabil unde prin vanzarea de obiecte donate se colecteaza fonduri pentru cateva adaposturi de animale din Bucuresti. Este un loc absolut minunat ce ar trebui vizitat nu doar pentru a dona dar si pentru a cumpara si ajuta. Mi-am gasit aici numeroare lucruri minunate.

Jucariile s-au dus toate la mama la gradinita pentru hipoacuzici.

Un alt loc pe care il recomand unde se pot dona haine atat pentru adulti cat si pentru si copii este Samusocial - ONG care se ocupa de recuperarea oamenilor strazii.

De luat in considerare sunt si numeroasele cazuri promovate de diferite ONG-uri pe Facebook. Trebuie doar sa cauti si cu siguranta vei gasi o cauza care merita...

Sau poti incerca un schimb de haine.

In concluzie, nu cred ca exista nici o scuza pentru cei care isi arunca hainele sau le transforma in carpe pentru curatenie :)

House of memories - Bran

Casa cu amintiri (House of memories) is a small vila in Bran (Romania). It's on the road to Omu mountain peak in Bugeci...the last house on the left side of the road. The place is filled with magic and memories from a lost time. The owner is a former antique store owner, and a Greek descended, from a family which immigrated in Romania many years ago after a strong earthquake shook their village. His grandfather owned a cafeteria, and his entrepreneurial skills definitely lasted in time for generations to come. If you are an antique lover, this is definitely the place to be. You can stare for hours at the walls and the shelves packed with objects from another era.

This is definitely a place to feel like home, relax...and enjoy the vibe of nature.

Bran and around...

As we did not plan an encounter with Dracula, we skipped the castle and focused on the area around it. So, we managed to visit the old village museum near the castle, eat kurtosh...and then enjoy the nature of Bucegi National Park and the view from Bran's monastery site.

My "No Poo" weeks

As a curious cat as I am, I decided to test this experiment everybody's talking about: No Poo...

This means that for at least 6 weeks I should avoid washing my hair with shampoo. Additionally no hair dryer, flat iron or curling iron. No conditioner, no protective serum, no masks...no nothing.

In theory, I should wash my hair with water only, but in the first weeks the quantity of sebum is a bit higher than normal. All these years of shampoo turned my hair into an addict that cannot function normally without its weekly shampoo and conditioner dosage. For this reason I chose to clean my hair with vinegar and baking soda at least for the first couple of weeks just to avoid the risk of being taken as a bum. I can also use egg masks and olive oil for my tops...

I decided to do this manly because my hair started falling pretty bad in the past couple for years, and I have already tried several treatments without success. I also read a lot of interesting things about this experiment. It has not been successful for everyone, but that's not a big surprise....it's worth trying anyway. The most inspiring is this guy who has not been using shampoo in 10 years, and though he is in his 60s he has wonderful hair...I am sure he also has some pretty good genes there :)

Anyway, I am in my week two of no poo...and things seam to work just like everyone describes it. My hair is a bit greasy and messy, but I can already feel it being healthier...it is softer and heavier. Also, I can see my natural curly hair coming back without freeze. It basically looks as if it is constantly wet.

So, here starts week three. I am basically half way through the process, and I have to admit that I have been tempted to use shampoo. I managed to keep myself away, but I did switch from vinegar to baking soda and I can definitely see the difference. What amazes me is the fact that after two weeks of basically not washing my hair, my tips are still pretty dry...considering that they've also been trimmed recently. Regarding my hair fall problem, I can't really see a huge difference. My hair doesn't fall as much when I wash it, but it does fall just as bad when I brush it or just touch it. Depending on how things evolve, even if I will no longer use poo, I think I will go back to my hair treatment with Alopexy 2%.

My experiment ended abruptly at the end of week three. On Thursday and Friday my hair started falling like crazy, so I decided to wash it properly and get it back on track. As much as I like natural remedies in general, the pleasure of putting shampoo in your hair is simply wonderful. The shampoo commercial with the lady imitating an orgasm while washing her hair...well that's the feeling you get after not washing with shampoo for three weeks :)

I can still see some results though, especially in the fact that my hair does not get greasy as fast as it used to. I will try to use organic shampoo only and in very small quantities.

The experiment is worth trying though. Not everybody's scalp reacts the same and nothing really bad can happen.

A new year, a new traveling experience

One week, two new European cities on my map....two Bs, two different cultures but with one common factor: WAR. My trip started in Beograd and continued with Berlin, a cultural loop through Europe.

Belgrade
We went to Serbia to a black metal music festival: Darkness Rising. As I am not a fan, the trip was labeled from the very beginning as an experience that would take me to a new, not very popular touristic capital in Europe.

A country neighboring Romania to South-West, a country that went through war not long ago and was bombed even from Romania...sad but true. Though we stayed next to Belgrade because of the festival  (at hotel Sucevic, a four start hotel that was worse than the worse hostel I ever went to), and were more than tired every morning, we managed to visit Belgrade. We walked for about 4 hours around Belgrade's center. Not much to visit except for a huge Orthodox church and an old fortress right at the other end of the city. The city's vibe is very similar to Bucharest. I am talking about a capital that was recently bombed and is not an EU member. Stray dogs, garbage, street vendors...these are common points between an EU capital and just a regular European capital's city center. Amazing or not...I have not seen as many gypsy as in Bucharest...which basically, in my view, makes us the lords of gypsies in Europe...

We went by car, so we entered Serbia at Portile de Fier and drove along the Danube. The scenery here is absolutely amazingly beautiful. The Danube flows through the mountains before entering Romania, turning from a sea like river to a stream...before heading for the Black Sea. Golubac Fortress is an old Turkish crossing point over the Danube. An old fortress lost into the Danube, unfortunately not very well taken care of.

The festival was the very interesting experience I expected. We had great company and made cool new friends...The cold weather and all organisational issues were nothing to the great time we had in the end. In the first day I was absolutely frozen and literally couldn't feel my toes anymore. The bus back to the hotel was never on time and kept changing schedules without us knowing. It was the first edition, and we were expecting them not to be super organised, but at some point it was just amazing...and it seamed like the organizers stopped caring. Black metal bands singing after sunrise :) I am sure that was something new for them as well.

Berlin

No time to get used to being home as I had to leave for another European B. For me, Germany is the womb  of civilization. The city was a first timer, but the country not. I have not been to Germany since I was 13...when it was the first country I ever visited. A memory that sticks with me because of the sadness I felt when I got back to Romania back then.

I did not like Berlin as much. The city is continuously being built since the '90s, and because of that it's not very inviting for tourists. Everything is just too clean and very well organised, and an obsessive - compulsive like me would go mad in such a place. I found out some interesting facts about the city though: 

• it has 153 museums which I only got to see from the outside, 
• one third of Berlin's citizens are immigrants, first or second generation, 
• there is no minimum wage law and though some would like to have that, others don't.

If I were to describe the city in a few words, the first things that come to my mind are: linear, massive, organized.

Unfortunately, our trip was rather short, but we did manage to see the most important touristic attractions, even if we could not get a real vibe of the city, maybe next time.

My favorite thing about the city was the street art. I didn't get to see much because we were mainly going through the center, but it is something particular about it.

Charlie and Sophie

Charlie and Sophie are my new foster kittens for a couple of weeks. They are the smallest kittens I ever fostered and I am super in love with them. I could stay and watch them all they long.

They are brother and sister, and about 3 weeks old. They've been found under a car - lost or abandoned, alone for sure. They were two little flea bags with typical eye problems and a little flu. They've been taken to the vet and already started their treatment. In a couple of days they should be in full health, but not yet ready for adoption as they are still too small.

They still eat special milk formula twice a day, though they also love regular cat food (of course, for kittens) and dig their whole faces in it. To my surprise they only use the litter box. As small as they are, they walk around the bathroom and climb up the litter box. They never miss :) I knew that cats have a special instinct for this, but this time I actually see it...and can't believe it.

They take me as their mother and follow me around the house. They seam to be afraid to cross the bathroom door if I don't pick them up :) They lick me and purr when we cuddle. The girl likes to sleep in my hair and the boy in my arms with his belly up, so I can pet him.

They still don't see very well, and often get scared of each other  They play together and even fight, probably getting ready for "the laws of the jungle". Taking care of them, I realize how difficult it must be for a mother cat to care for 5 or 6 like them, especially when she is just as vulnerable. The streets are definitely not an appropriate place for animals to live and struggle, and I definitely can't understand those who abandon mother dogs or cats with their babies.

I recycle. Do you?

I can still remember the first time I recycled....it was all my books and notebooks from the 1st to the 8th grade. They were all filled with memories and I just didn't want them in the trash. They were not garbage...they were the notebooks on which I learnt how to write, make calculations, draw and develop my general knowledge...they were in a way like a treasure to me. Luckily my father has always been a green person. At the time, he was a geography teacher and very much involved in ecological education and school camps. He is the one who made me believe that if I recycle my notebooks they would not become regular garbage, but would return to life in a different way, and all my experiences will be out there forever :)

I still recycle, though it's not easy to do that in Romania. I recycle about once a month one full bag of paper and one of plastic (also some glass from time to time). To make my life easier, I bought a double sided laundry container from Ikea, and in one of them I collect plastic and in the other one paper. This makes it easier when you have to put them in the containers. I keep them in the kitchen as this is a "garbage" that does not smell or cause any problems, so you don't have to worry about that.

I recycle anything paper and anything plastic. I had some doubts about whether in Romania all plastics are recycled, so I contacted several different recycling companies and NGOs, and they all replayed the same: any type of plastic is recyclable.

The other BIG question is about the fact that usually materials are collected together. This basically means that you struggle to sort them and in the end the all end up in the same place. Again, I received the exact same answer from every organisation I contacted: they are indeed collected together, but that does not mean that they all end up in the regular garbage. Romania recycles too little and so the industry is not very well developed, and as a result not enough investments come this way. For this reason, not enough trucks can be bought to transport the material...that's also the reason why at some point the containers get full and nobody comes to collect them in time. If more people would recycle than the need would grow and as a consequence more money would be put into this.

The important thing I found out in my quest is that the city hall (or district representatives) can be forced to bring special recycling containers next to your house....but you have to request that. You can easily do that by writing an official letter. You don't have to have your legal residence in that place...you just have to live there. I have not tried this, but it's next on my list :)

To make it easier, you can download the letter model from here:
http://www.viatadupacolectare.ro/resurse/trimite-o-scrisoare-autoritatilor

The movie I received from one of the NGO's is perfect for this post, and I really advice you to watch it. I am sure you will identify yourself in many of the questions raised and be sure that you will receive your answer.

I was so happy in Denmark because they make you recycle by law and you had special containers everywhere. I hope that some day this will also be available in my country...a very very very far away day from now. 

I know that many of my friends recycle, but I wonder how many? It's so easy to do it...the only trouble you get yourself through is taking the materials from your house to the containers. If you manage to get a container next to your apartment building that it's even easier. It's like everything else in life, one you do it for the first time, then it doesn't seam as hard anymore. I really think it's a matter of lack of education and laziness.

Don't expect things to change if you don't/ are not willing to change....

Today I took a bite out of the pavement....

...I fell. This morning I was running after the bus and just when I was about to hop on it, I fell next to the door. I didn't realise I hurt myself, so I just got up and hoped on the bus...that's when I realised "the situation". My favourite black jeans were ripped and under all the dirt there stood a small wound. My skin was just a little bit plucked and small drops of blood turned my white skin into a beautiful red bruise.

I was nothing bit smiles...I was actually happy. I haven't fell since forever, and soon I'm having my 27th birthday, so I just receive my proof that I am still "growing". What better gift could I have made myself than a bruise in my knee?!

It brought back so many memories of when I always used to have my knees and elbows full of wounds, and was proud of my scars. I remember we even had some sort of a sadistic children's contest on who gets to fall for as many times as possible in the same place, before the old bruise gets healed. Imagine that...my left knee made me proud back then...I had 5 or 6 falls on it and the bruise is still vaguely there...

Job Searching Saga

We all go through the experience of making a professional change at least once in our lifetime. Things used to be different when you would start working in a factory at 18 and spend all your work life there. Now, once out of the shadow of the communist regime, we have to challenge ourselves and discover our strongest points in order to identify our place, reach our limits and find "the perfect job".

My saga started with a New Year's resolution for which I've been basically just waiting for the right time to make. I used to have a great international job, where I really blossomed into a professional, and my biggest proof is the fact that my new job is simply awesome, and I wouldn't have gotten it if I didn't develop my experience before. Unfortunately, things changed a lot in the past year at my previous job...what can I say...Romanians are a special nation :)

I decided to basically announce my resignation before actually finding a job. I've been called crazy for this, but I like to be fair. I wasn't under any pressure financially and I wanted to play the cards right. Extra to that, I wasn't looking just for any job, but a really good job and this basically meant having time to sort things out. 

Starting January I went to 1 - 2 interviews/ week. My goal was to have at least 1 interview/ week...and if I didn't get a job, at least I wanted to make sure that everybody knew I was looking for one. So, my main channels were: my friends, job portals and any social media available (FB, Linkedin and my blog of course). I tried to connect and interact with as many people as possible especially via Linkedin. Not everybody replied, but to my surprise more that I expected did.

So, considering all the above mentioned efforts I went to about 10 different companies for interview and rejected about 5 invitations...so January - March = 15 interview invitations. With some of these companies I went to "second base", but fortunately they were not the place for me. I've been rejected, and I also got to reject a few offers myself...I had some very professional interviews and some very, very bad, totally unprofessional meetings.

I have a pretty strong background in the recruitment industry and I know a bad interviewer when I see one...and when that interviewer is a lot likely to become your next boss...you don't want that. To my surprise one of the worst interviews were with a Communication agency, a pretty big one I would say. Totally unprofessional...they had me waiting for 45 min. and I've only been told bullshit during the interview such as: "are you a volunteer just because it's cool to have that in your CV?" or "you've done all these internships without "knowing" anyone?...I can't believe that". These are questions that cannot be argued, because only very frustrated people could imagine and give voice to such thoughts. A lot of people would give a positive answer to both questions, I know, but an interviewer never puts the problem like that, especially without knowing the person they're talking to.

My second worst interview I have to mention was with a Canadian telecommunications company (not very well known one, but very promising). I can't even comment on this experience. All I can say is that I wanted to get up a couple of times, and just leave the room. But I just didn't do it out of common sense. I did self withdrew myself (if that exists..well I did it :) from that recruitment process...I would have never wanted to have anything to do with that company.

The most professional interview I had was in a very large pharmaceutical company. It was super sharp...the only thing is that I never got any feedback from them...though that's what they said...

I'm not claiming to have been the perfect candidate. I was probably not a good fit for most of the jobs I applied for, or the companies I went to. To my surprise, though I have been an interviewer myself in the past ,and I know the "rules", I was nervous before every single meeting :) 

As you can see it was a great experience!

I never thought, but always wished, to work in a communication agency. This is a like a super dream coming true. I will work in a Romanian - German team of professionals and will contribute to organizing international events for the company's biggest client in Europe. I am the happiest there is and can't wait to begging this new chapter. I will work together with professional, creative people and will have the opportunity to push myself to an edge where I always wanted to be. 

This experience proves again that when you truly want something, it will happen, and experience is the key to everything....you can learn as much as you want on a topic and be super enthusiastic about it, if you don't experience it and it doesn't really attract you...well then all the studying is in vain. You don't have to "know" the right people to find a job. At the end, I got my job through a simple job portal add. You just have to hang in there and never stop trying...and I have to admit that having all my "recruitment world" friends around me helped a lot, but not because they were arranging job interviews for me, but because each of them are great motivational examples...and in such situations you need your friends and family's support for sure.

So...my holiday is over...I really enjoyed it, but I hope I don't have to take it again for a while :)

Sometimes saying nothing says everything

"Sometimes saying nothing says everything..." could be my new motto. If I was to learn anything from Dale Carnegie's teachings it would be the fact that it's better to silence yourself willingly than damage yourself by opening your mouth. I've opened my mouth to bitterness one too many times, so I decided to take a step back, and unless I have something interesting to say than it's just better to listen. People will not consider you stupid if you don't open your mouth to random words that make you seam smart...I am sure that it would be the other way around.

At the same time, I realised how important it is to always stay true to yourself (at least) and not accept those that damage you...even if it leads to a lonely life. Sometimes loneliness is healthier than a life full of people that damage your self-esteem while feeding their sneaky egos. But never worry about loneliness, if you have the right attitude towards life, and you keep yourself real and grounded, you will never encounter it.

The more I know myself and the more I interact with people, the more I realise that my values get stronger. I am a grudge holder, I admit that...especially towards people whom I respected at some point in my life, tried to help and was there for them (even if sometimes not the way they wanted me to)...and this also extends to those who hurt my family or my friends. All that comes from my injustice wound - L. Bourbeau's theory says that to hide my wound I wear the mask of rigidity...which makes perfect sense.

A lot of things make sense once you discover your wound and your mask...for example I take my love for animals and involvement in animal protection campaigns as a manifestation of my injustice wound focused towards those that can't speak and express their pain and frustrations. Same goes towards people, especially children, with mental disabilities...

Everybody is so keen with this "personal development" thing. It sounds so cool and interesting, it makes it sound like your elevating yourself and becoming a wise monk...but it's done wrong by so many people. When you just add layers you will end up with a big piece of crap...I'm interested in most of these theories and the science as a whole, but I'm only interested in discovering myself...yes, discovering not changing.

So yes, I proudly admit that I am a very honest grudge holder with who you should not be surprised if one day you no longer speak to or see :) I accept my rigidity mask and embrace it...but will willingly speak less and listen more!

Never grow up

Saturday, the 2nd of March, was a special day for my skin. I had my third tattoo done...a tattoo I have been waiting for and planning for a long time. This time it was Peter Pan's turn. I love the "never grow up" motto...and not in a schizophrenic way. Most people forget they were young and forget how wonderful and free their life used to be. They get lost in the daily drama of an adult's life and turn out unhappy and depressed human beings...and all that because they forget to be a child.

I made a tattoo of the flying scene, where Wendy and her brothers first head to Neverland and learn how to fly by thinking of happy things :)

So...from now on...whenever in doubt, I'll remember to think of happy things...

My first tattoo, the star on my neck, was made in 2007 as a memory of me, the human symbolised through the star, reaching a dream land - San Francisco, USA. Since this is a tattoo that's always exposed to the sun...in all these years it changed its colour, so I decided to also redo this one. Still its memory remains back in 2007...

Spring fundraising :)

Starting with March 1st I am enjoying for the first time the benefits of unemployment...free time :) I needed a break and I needed a change. My job hunting campaign is going rather well, I have to admit I am playing a bit with my new situation, because it's a once in a life time opportunity when I don't have to care about money that much.

I love my free time and I am using it wisely to develop myself and do more for the animals I love so much.

That's why, this week, I attended two fundraising events. One of them was related to the part of the annual income taxes we all pay - or at least we should - the 2% that every employee has the opportunity to donate towards a NGO. Not many people are aware of this possibility, and not many choose to redirect their money for a noble cause. If these money aren't redirected then the state has the right to use them as it wishes...and when you live in a corrupt state like Romania, you don't want that to happen. The state, of course doesn't have any campaigns encouraging people to redirect these 2%, so this is where us, as NGO representatives, step in.

Only recently, big companies stared getting involved in this, and included such employee campaigns in their CSR activity. One of those companies in Romania is Petrom, the largest oil retailer on the market...and as you can imagine their CSR campaigns are pretty generous. For the 2% donation, they basically did a one day round of several NGOs covering different sectors, offering them the opportunity to present their activity and their plans to the company's employees...while encouraging them to responsibly redirect the 2% from last year's income tax.

Another great fundraising event I attended is SSCG, a tradition among animal lovers. The event is a "garage sale" with things donated by people...clothes, accessories, books, shoes...etc. The event takes place every month and even if it was hosted in different locations in the past, now we hold it a very special place...a dog training school and pet hotel :) There's a lot of work in putting everything out for display and the at the end putting them back together, but it's the only time that gives us (people from different animal associations) the opportunity to come together and exchange ideas, cases or experiences we have. It's really nice to interact with people with who you share a passion...

Pitzu for adoption

Adopted - March 2013

Pitzu had me and a lot of people, confused on whether it's a cat or a tomcat. Though at the beginning he was introduced as "Pitzi the cat"...he proved to be a tomcat so his name turned into Pitzu.

His story portraits the life of most stray cats. He was born together with his brother in a basemen, him being the smaller one. For a long time it seams that his brother basically took care of him, because he was very depended. His brother started "communicating" with people a lot faster and so he was adopted pretty fast.

Pitzu is now alone, in foster, looking for his forever owners. He is still scared and I am the only person he trusts....and not entirely. I had him in foster for about a month. In the past weeks I stayed home a lot so he got used to my presence and started even interacting with me more. He is basically the first cat I tamed :)

Pitzu is a special tomcat looking for a home... preferably somebody who already had a cat and is used with a cat's "precious" character. He is very curious and easily intrigued by anything that moves :)

Pitzu is about 4 months old, and has been dewormed and litter box trained...

Taming cat dragons

Jackie and Hyde are my two new foster kittens. I've had them for 5 days already and they are still afraid of me :) Yet, they've made huge progress learning to use the litter box only and being brave enough to play with cat toys.

Their story is a Romanian classic for stray cats. Born in the basement of an apartment building, living in the dark till their mother had to leave them and they had to get around on their own. That probably happened around the age of three months when their personalities already developed. They had to be caught as soon as possible because getting out of the basement could mean trouble for the two survivors. They are still two young to know what the big world has for them, but they clearly have good survival skills, because they don't trust humans easily. That's their only hope in the city jungle, and they know it...but only if humans were their sole enemies...

I had to deal with "wild" kittens before, but they usually started trusting me as soon as they realised that I was a reliable food source :) This doesn't work with Jackie and Hyde. By the way, they looked really good when they were caught. I would say that they didn't lack food in the basement. They were two very healthy kittens, flee-less and well fed.

I would really like them to get adopted together, because they have a delicious way of taking care of one another. They meaow when one is missing calling for protection, and they are willing to risk themselves to make sure that they are together. They eat together, they sleep together and they even use the litter box together...

They are a delight to watch, and as soon as they will start trusting I am sure they will become wonderful company to their lucky future owner.

I wonder when will this ideal world I am still hoping for will become reality...if people could just become a bit more responsible and sensitive towards other creatures.

Hei...I'm looking for a job!

I am looking for a new challenge. I have made my "thousand year plan" and decided that it's time to make a change and switch direction...

Who am I professionally?

Long story short:

4 years experience in Marketing & Communication, Public Relations & Corporate Affairs.

1 year experience as an executive search recruiter in which I have conducted search and selection processes for national and international recruitment projects, as well as business 

development campaigns.

3 years of study and work experience abroad.

3 years experience as an animal rights volunteer in Romania.

MA in International Studies (Aarhus University, Denmark); BA in International Studies and 

European Relations (Bucharest University, Romania).

Specialities:

Corporate Affairs (international and national event management, internal communication, media relations), Public Relations, Research, Social Media, Blogging, Digital Marketing (websites, SEO, e-mail marketing etc.), Lead Management, Project Management, Multiculturalism.

See and download my CV -  *** Laura Cruceru Resume ***

Arya the catworrier

Adopted - January 2013

My first fostered cat for this year is Arya. She is a 7 months old cat which was found by one of Robi's volunteers about 3 months ago when she was just a kitty. Though she was adopted after four months of keeping her in their home the new owners decided to move to another place and get rid of the cat. Why?! Well because the real estate agents told them that it's not ok for people visiting a house to see that a cat has been living there. For a so called cat lover that is a pretty lame excuse, especially because the cat is spayed, and I can tell you, very clean!

Anyway, now I have the pleasure of calling her my cat till she finds a new loving house. She is super active when it comes to loving. She loves to purr, to press her head into you till you give her some attention. She loves to be petted and doesn't take long till she turns a loving session into a play session. 

She climbs to the highest peak of our furniture....then gets up on her back legs wanting to go even higher. She is super curious and has to see everything...you cannot hide a thing form her.