Hair fall drama

I recently got nostalgic and started looking at photos from the past, going through my teenage years to young adult...and well...whatever I am now. Being self absorbed as always I said to my self "not a lot has changed: my face looks pretty good, I didn't really gain a lot more weight and I am just as mean and prickly as I've always been". But there's one thing that keeps getting back to me...MY HAIR.

Looking at the photos from one year to another I could see my hair...gone.

I went from big, fluffy, wavy hair that any glam 80s rock star would envy...to...soft, frizzly, shitty hair. And to top it all, last year I started getting grey hairs.

My hair started falling at 25 and that's when it also started being less wavy and more shitty. I obviously investigated the issue and it looks like women hair fall is a major problem with 1 gazillion solutions and treatments that don't necessarily work....trust me I tried most of them.

1. went to the dermatologist to get a follicle analysis which implies the doctor looking through your hair with a magnifying glass to see if roots are weakening and maybe suffer from alopecia - nope...not that...still I was prescribed this expensive pill treatment (Anacaps) for three months, topped with a hair solution (Alopexy 2%)...yeah...nothing happened.

2. checked my thyroid cause it could be a hormone imbalance...nothing there either...the doctor was even kind enough to tell me how she calculated all the results of my blood analysis to prove that I am fine...must have had a desperate look on my face.

3. obviously ran all my blood tests for anemia, or lack of certain vitamins and minerals...I am as healthy as they get...

4. even gave up on birth control pills for almost a year and took estrogen (under a doctor's recommendation) because I thought that might be the problem...but no.

5. the most interesting one was when a GP prescribed me Xanax cause she was sure it was stress..I enjoyed the good night sleep, but the hair was still on my pillow in the morning.

When I ran out of medical options (maybe I should have also tried a psychiatrist) I turned to cosmetics and tried special shampoos with caffeine, with honey...with whatever natural things you can imagine. I tried professional shampoos, I also tried hair masks and conditioners. Spent a fortune there...

I moved to natural stuff and this was the painful part. I tried home made soap like my great-grandma used...and following the same path I also tried gas....like the one you put in your car. I smelled like an engine for a week. I tried egg mask...and rinsed it off with hot water and ended up with a boiled egg in my hair...I tried honey and olive oil and lost half of my hair in that greasy thing...I tried castor oil...coconut oil...argan oil...I tried rinsing with vinegar and smelled like a salad for a week.

I tried cutting my hair to have it regenerate. I donated my hair to cancer survivors to make wigs hoping that karma would help me...joking :) I tried coloring my hair with ammonia free color to make it stronger (seems to work for some of my fiends), I tried not to blow dry it for a while and looked like a mop. 

My most extreme experiments was "no poo"- no shampoo or any hair products diet for your precious. It was planned for 6 weeks, but it ended abruptly in week 3 when I just couldn't stand looking like a bum anymore.

My latest experiment was henna. I never used henna and heard wonders about it, so I had to do it. My friend recommended the best henna brand....got it! Henna is a hair treatment more than a hair color, so it sounded like a win-win for my hairloss problem and my greys.

Before going on this adventure I should have read the instructions...but who does that?! Well, putting on henna means that you need 2 days without any interaction with society. You need to keep the color - which looks like cow shit by the way - in your hair for 8 hours with your head wrapped in cling foil. This is a mixture of the henna powder with hot water, olive oil, coffee to make it darker and I added some castor oil. I must say that I was very generous with the oil, but that was before reading that after these 8 hours you're only allowed to rinse it and not wash with shampoo. You can only use shampoo after 48 hours.

I didn't resist 3 days without social interaction, smelly hair and looking like a bum so I washed with shampoo after around 20 hours....and what a relief that was! I felt like I lost half of he little hair I had left while washing, and kept telling myself "never again, never again" But then when all the pain ended and I had my hair washed and dried I changed my mind to "maybe...twice a year?!"

My hair does have a vibrant very natural color, and my greys have been covered. It also feels nice and to my surprise although it fell a lot when I was washing, it wasn't that bad when I combed it. So...let's see how this goes.

Oh yeah...forgot to mention that I use a wooden comb and a boar bristles brush.... 

My quest has not ended...so in case anyone has any suggestions...help! As you can see I'm willing to try anything.

The fortune on your head

The fortune on your head sounds like a bounty hunter ad, but it's not. It's about how precious something as your hair can be to somebody who lost it. I donated a lot of things in my life: time, money, clothes, food, ideas...but never hair. And I haven't even thought about that possibility to be frank....who would want my hair?! It's not like I'm Goldylocks (the character, not the principle) and my hair would actually be a treasure.

But, I have been proved wrong...and so the bravest thing I did this week was to cut 20 cm from my hair. I have to mention that it took me about 3 years to grow them, so yeah, it wasn't necessarily an easy decision to make...I thought, until they were actually cut, and I never felt better.

In my do-gooder research, I learnt about this organisation that makes wigs from donated hair, for women who survived cancer. This program started in November 2015, and already a lot of women chose to be part of it. Natural hair wigs are very expensive and difficult to manufacture, so most cancer survivors cannot afford them. Still, losing hair is one of the most traumatic side effects of cancer treatment, and though it might be ignored, because people usually think about the big picture rather than the details in it, a natural hair wig raises confidence and improves the mental state of a survivor.

How it works, is that you go to one of their partner hairdressers and get a 20 cm hair cut for free...or if you live abroad or in other cities, you just go to a regular salon ask them to cut your ponytail, put it in an envelope/ box and send it to the organisation's address (Fundatiei Renasterea: str Virgil Plesoianu, nr 87, sector 1, Bucuresti, Romania). It doesn't matter if your hair is natural or colored.

To make a short hair wig costs about 200 euros, while a long hair one is about 330 euros. So don't be shy on donating money as well.

If you know women who survived cancer, and are struggling with hair loss, please tell them to contact Fundatia Renasterea and enter this program. It will surely help them improve the quality of their life.

Your body is a wonderland

So, yesterday evening I went to see this play called "The vagina monologues"...pretty famous, translated in 40 languages and enacted in 50 countries. I have to admit that the title intrigued me, and I loved saying it, and that's mostly because I live in a very bashful country, and like to see how people blush to such "shameful" word.

I asked a lot of people to join me and the reactions were laughter, big eyes or negative/ neutral impressions from those who saw it. Seeing it myself now, my impressions are exactly in opposition to all this.

This is a very educational text that reflects exactly on the bashfulness people have regarding the V word, but most importantly the way this shame affects women around the world...especially those in the very patriarchal areas of the world, but not only.

If you don't wanna see the play, read the book....you will have drama, comedy and a bit of history based in real interviews, in just 100 something pages.

★ Travel diary of me in 2015 ★

I had this travel gap in my life for the past years that I felt the need to fill up in 2015. I used to have this purpose to travel to a totally new location at least once a year, and I managed to keep it for long, but then life came along and my plan stopped working the way it used to. But in 2015, I took revenge and traveled to 2 totally new countries (The Netherlands and Portugal) and 5 totally new cities (Leipzig, Clisson - Nantes, Amsterdam, Lisbon - Sintra, Rome), plus a new view of Berlin. Two were festival trips, one was business related, and the last two were total leisure. The ideal mix - match that allowed me to see things from different perspectives, and have different travel mates.

Leipzig and Clisson - Nantes were festival destinations (Wave Gothic Treffen and Hellfest), so I can't say I tasted much of the local flavor. Festival traveling is special in it's own way, and I totally recommend the experience. The city you will be in, will be totally different that it's usual, day-to-day look. Everybody is there to have fun and enjoy themselves, so if you want a high dose of dopamine that crawls through your pores, this is the right crowd. You get to just relax, listen to your favorite music, see your favorite bands, and all this is a totally alien environment, that some how feels good and ideal. Your brain will be thankful for the high dose of adrenaline and dopamine that you'll provide him with. When traveling for festivals, pack light...and if you plan to stay in a tent, I recommend you rent a festival tent, because even if it costs a bit more, it saves you a lot of hassle...trust me...and if the airline looses your luggage (like in my case) at least you have a place to sleep.

Berlin has been added to my Leipzig trip as an extra couple of days of relaxation, since the city was our departure airport. Though I have been in Berlin before, this time I focused more on just walking through the city and getting the Berlin vibe that everybody is just so excited about. Still no real change of impression, and still not on top of my favorite places list. The city is nice, very clean, very well structured, lots of nice street art....very and lots of everything, but it feel just dead. I like a bit of history and WW2 ruined that for Berlin unfortunately.

Amsterdam...oh the city of the Red District, drugs, sex and loosing oneself completely into the devil's temptations. Such a superficial view of a city that is filled with history and riches. Unfortunately, this scrap image takes over, and the people visiting this city are good christians that come to meet the devil every now and then, loose themselves and piss on the city's history. If you visit Amsterdam for this reason, then I recommend a stay in one of the many hostels that are in the heart of the Red District. It's a bit more expensive, but our option was a room of 14 girls and though it seams like a horrifying experience, it was actually pretty good. But if you visit Amsterdam for it's history, museums and boat travels around the canals, try to stay further from this area. Either way you don't need more than a Friday to Sunday trip to see what Amsterdam has to offer. I recommend at least two trips to this city....one to smoke weed, get drunk and piss on the street, and one to visit and enjoy the history of this great European capital. What I liked most were the flee markets...visiting them takes you on a trip to the beautiful, rich times that Europe used to be submerged in. If you come from Eastern Europe and like books and movies about what life used to be in the rich cities of Europe, you will love this.

Lisbon - Sintra was the highlight of the year. I have been waiting to take this trip for almost 4 years, and I can't believe I finally managed to be there. The flight ticket was so expensive that when I found this special offer, I just had to take the tickets. I guess excitement took over my brain during this visit, because not even now, I can't find the words to describe it. It was beyond expectations and if you manage to actually feel the city and not just visit it, you will have an unforgettable trip. Of course there are different types of travelers with different interests, and the travel mate I had, did not enjoy it as much as I did. Coming form Romania, Portugal is not very different. You have their own beggars (not your own country's beggars like in Rome), and "dirt" that shows the level of development is just about the same as where you're coming from. So, if you come from Eastern Europe, and you usually appreciate flee markets that take you back in richer times, rather than the poverty that you can easily see when you walk down the street in your own city, it might not be so great. But, if you come from Western Europe this is a bohemian paradise. I loved the oriental mix in the architecture of the city, the crumbled dirty streets of the old town where everybody knows everybody, mostly because they can see in each-others houses, the history of the Inquisition times, Templar and secret societies, discoveries of unknown worlds, megalomania and obsessions of rulers, music, sun and natural resources. This part of the world has such a great vibe, that you can just get sucked into the feelings of the millions that used to inherit it. Here, every piece of history is built from love, not reason...even if we're talking about mad, destructive love. What I liked most was this very old Inquisition cathedral that somehow survived time - Igreja de São Domingos. This red painted cathedral used to be an Inquisition court house. Here, thousands of innocent lives were sentenced to be killed on fiery stakes in the market that stands very close to it. The red paint, the cracks in the walls and the signs of the great fire that it went through make you shiver. As a side note, man I would love to eat a pastel de nata right now.

Rome, my most spontaneous trip ever, to a city I was not that excited about visiting. I was horrified I think by it's fame and the hoards of tourists that come with it. I was curios, but not that curious....expecting some turned over old stones that you learn about sooooo much at history and see so many documentaries and movies about. I thought it's most likely another overrated tourist trap. But, when cheap flights and promising travel mates come along...why not make it. If I would have not liked it, and least I would have enjoyed the company I was with. And so, the beginning of December turned into, what it seams, the best time of the year to visit Rome. We had great weather and the best part...no tourists. It was just us and Russians at this time of the year. We stayed near the train station, a place that makes everybody squint, but to be honest I don't understand why. It was super quite, averagely clean and not dangerous at all...even better, it was close to everything. Oh yes, and I was impressed...this city exceeded all my expectations and it's definitely worth seeing all those "stones". History is just amazing, and being able to still witness it's greatness with the good and the bad it's just as amazing. We walked through the city from "one corner to the other" and saw it all...the famous and least famous spots, that are obviously the best. We had great tips about these not so famous places and we did not hesitate to see the orange garden with our own eyes, taste delicious ice cream and pasta and pizza and porchetta panini. Some tips should definitely include not eating oranges from the trees unless you want to taste pure, super concentrated Vit. C...we did it and it hurt our taste buds. Don't miss the Basilica of Saint Pietro no matter your beliefs...we were lucky to attend a mass that had a choir singing and the organ playing...beautiful. Another thing that should definitely not be missed, and we experienced it by accident basically, is the evening starling flocks flight over the river Tiber of the millions of starlings that migrate through Rome. It's the most spectacular nature meet urban life phenomena I ever experienced. Millions of little birds hoover while singing and dancing on the sky, and then settle in the trees around for their good-night sleep. Ah...important here is to have something to cover your head with, ideally an umbrella...you get it why :)

2015 Travel Map

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.

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...

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 ***

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.

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 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.

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 :)

"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 :)

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.