Monday, May 28, 2007

Sibiu...a journey to the past, a journey into the future

Sibiu is truly amazing, relaxing, inspiring...if I were a writer with writer's block I would go to Sibiu and probably come back with a literary masterpiece.

Everything is different in Sibiu, the distinct sensation that you step into another territory, a territory of peace, culture and great ambiance...the buildings are renovated and very pleasantly coloured, the streets are full of bohemian terraces and trees. A lot of parks offer the greenest grass and the most comfortable benches, especially if you come from a 5 hour long train ride into a compartment with a serious lack of air.


Brukenthal Museum offers an impressive collection of Illuminist art and other art-currents-art-works (sadly there are not well organized and tend to make your brain numbingly-tired after watching two whole floors of paintings), the Tower of the Council has a delightful view of the city and it also makes you dream of a big house of your own, with a big attic with a glass ceiling, a wooden spiral staircase and pillows all over - a place of your own where you can write or read or work on your computer and look at the sky above, on clear spring days and find funny shaped clouds...

The Evangelic Church is a Gothic cathedral situated in the main square, that breathes serenity, it even has an organ - but I didn't have the great privilege of hearing it live, maybe next time...because there will be a next time.

I retraced the steps of the lovers that sweetly lie on the Bridge of liars and I saw a fantastic exhibition of simulating-lighting-objects (flower pots in wire spheres, white undershirts on hangers above the heads of the visitors, huge transparent umbrellas without handles, metallic spheres hanged like flowers).

The publicity in the main square is barely noticeable, they actually custom made all the logos to fit the cultural air that flouts about. All the logos are shrunk (Vodafone, Orange, Banca Transilvania, BRD) to be demure and not to pollute the cultural atmosphere.

The terraces are very well arranged...Sibiu has the most delicious non-alcoholic cocktails I have ever tasted (Green Apple - a balmy summer drink, Kiwi-kiwi - that needs no introduction and is great, Green Frog - very light and refreshing, Florida - a fruity madness) - all these have been tested and cannot, under any circumstances, be a danger to your health or your taste papillas :D.
The food is also delicious, exquisite chocolate ice-cream and a like-grandma-would-cook chicken-a-la-Greek-soup.

The trip ended with a five hour train ride with air-conditioning, soothing music, a lot of empty seats to sleep on and amazing landscapes just outside the window, frame by frame, green mountains and the clearest sky that this spring has given us, filled with my favourite kind of clouds (Cumulus).

If you want a relaxing, intellectually stimulating and fresh-air weekend, go to Sibiu, a Romanian city that deserves to be The European Cultural Capital of 2007.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Tired and lucid

After a day that started with a loud alarm noise at 6 o'clock, after my last project was completed, after Aida's last project was completed, after I showed a friend around the dorm, after we went to the market to buy fruits and vegetables and other very healthy things, after a quest for a dentist, after waiting for 2 whole hours at the dentist, I finally got home...the sweet, cosy home away from home, my dorm room (actually I'm in Aida's room right now, but still a sweet home away from home).

I realized today, everywhere I went, everyone I saw, that everybody is really, really tired...all day long, from dusk (some of the unfortunate individuals who have to face the streets before the official morning appears) 'till dawn and beyond, until the last subway train marches to sleep, until you literally cannot utter one more word because your brain doesn't function.

Good night and pleasant sleep to all of you!...May you have a very un-tiresome day tomorrow...every tomorrow ;)!

Monday, May 21, 2007

The project is completed

I was a copywriter for a Direct Mailing Project...the project is finally done...it was the most mood-fluctuating-day I have ever had this year...luckily it's over.


Good night and pleasant dreams to me.


PS: Here is one of the lilies I was talking about earlier...absolutely beautiful.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad...

Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad

If you counted well, there are 21 "sad" in my post (not counting the title and this last one).

There is only one person that can cheer me up, but that person is not here with me right now...so...

21 grams, 21 years, 21 minutes before I really have to do something about this project, 21 days until I have to say good bye to my grandmother, the 21st day of this month is tomorrow, 21 yellow lilies on the floor of my room (I don't know who put them there), 21 lives I wish I had so I could mess up every single one of them except the last...

Back with a d...k in a box

Luckily I have great friends. After an awful day Scrat came by with great ideas and his funny way of being. He cheered me up a lot and still no homework, but a lot better.

Relax and enjoy the box...kiddin' I'm not that kinky...I think :D.

What to do? What to do?

The thing about a rainy afternoon with homework just waiting for you on your computer is that you aren't in the mood for anything.

The balcony door is open, I see green trees dancing with the tired wind, I hear kids outside playing in puddles, I want to do my homework so I can watch a movie, I want to watch a movie so I'll hopefully get in the mood for homework afterwards, I wish I were far, far away, maybe in Hon Kong or Tibet or Alaska...somewhere that doesn't look like here, somewhere where I can not care about the things I have to do and the things I wish to be done.

This is it for now, but as it seems, I think I'm going to write a lot on my blog today, don't know if I'm going to publish it all...

Love me if you dare



Did you ever had one of those periods when no matter how much you wish for a good thing to compensate for a bad one, that never happens?

To be more explicit than you are accustomed to expect from a post of mine, it didn't matter how many projects I successfully completed or how many exams I passes without cramming one second, all in the passed 2 weeks, it mattered/matters only the fact that I don't seem to do anything right personally wise.

I don't know how I do it, but I always do something wrong...usually I realise that after quite a while from the event.

When I first saw Jeux d'enfants (Love me if you dare), I thought about how amazing it must be for two persons to play with and love each other all their lives...too amazing, in fact, totally unrealistic. Although I hoped that that kind of love existed somewhere, that somewhere was most likely to be in our imagination, I haven't yet seen a single couple with a history even 10 yards close to the one portrayed in Love me if you dare.

Still, with all the skepticism, with all the irony and all the toughness I like to boastfully show...I vividly dream of such an occurrence...the occurrence of true love, a perpetual occurrence, one that lasts, and lasts, and lasts...

If there are any incurable-and-most-likely-to-be-hopelessly-romantic-all-their-lives out there, then see Jeux d'enfants!

If you are tough and stiff and don't believe in love and you are totally focused on your career or on school projects...see Love me if you dare!

If you are lonely or bored or sad or happy or drugged or ill or tired see Jeux d'enfants (Love me if you dare), then go to bed :)!

Friday, May 18, 2007

Carol Park

These days I'm discovering a whole new side of Bucharest, the non-polluted-friendly-peaceful-side, the side that makes me fall in love with this city.

After a few extremely tiresome, sleepless, mood-less nights, yesterday I left all the projects, all the stress an took a day off, a day to recover my energy, a day to relax my mind.

I started strolling on Magheru Blvd, the aim was Carturesti and another meeting with my beloved Dali, but I realised on the way that I wanted something different, something bigger, something greener that day. I had never gone to Carol Park, so after calling my friend H. for directions, I went there.

Amazing, so peaceful, so serene, so green, for a few moments I had the sensation that I was in the mountains somewhere, near a bohemian lake with a five-arch-mausoleum as a sentinel. Statues, a working artificial fountain at the entrance, lots of trees...I really charged my batteries for an hour or so. And the thing that pleasantly surprised me the most was a little game that the light played with the lake's water on a man-made stone bridge. It was comparable to the special effects in James Cameron's Abyss.

...water, light, the green of the seemingly-untouched-by-man-nature-corner, a real "I'm on a mountain right now" sensation, relaxation, a free-extreme-biking-show...

The day ended much better than I thought it would....in the great company of a very nice friend, in a zen-like, Greece garden, with fluffy pigeons and non-alcoholic beer.

Go to Carol Park and enjoy!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Suddenly...I am a student

I kind of skipped school these last...months, I only went if I had a presentation, a test or an exam...the classes just don't allure me anymore, because I tend to fall asleep on a bench, thinking of everything except the class I physically attend that particular moment.

After all the mint-rubbing, the sleepless nights with deadline on my head, after all the days of waiting for something to take me out of the vicious-sloth-circle, I woke up this morning with the heap of projects crashing over me...suddenly the mint-rubbing-time has ended, I have become a student yet again, with an up-coming examination and two presentations tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Sleepless nights await me with open eyes...but the thing that bothers me the most is not the future tiredness, not the fact that I didn't go to school, not even the almost-tasteless-salad I had last night in a pub with some friends (at least the company was great, although tired)...the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that I don't feel one bit of regret for the fact that I insolently skipped classes.

Endless numbers of too-much-"texted" slides are not my idea of classes, neither is the fact that I, no matter the hour of day, feel the sudden urge to put my head on a bench an sweep away to dreamland the instance a new "Now let's see another slide" sentence flows from the lecturer's mouth.

So, my dear reader, I would like to know, if I may, if you go to classes and if you do, what keeps you from slowly shutting your eyes and think about the minute you get out of that uncrowded boring room and see the green of May or drink a delicious Moccacino.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Aurora Australis — Hollow Earth Evidence

The more you look at the Earth's phenomenons, the more you think about the fact that beauty is at every pace, ready to enchant you, ready to get under your skin and make you more alive than you state that you are.

Just admire and feel...take your time...after all, you should make time for yourself so that you can lose it in a pleasant way...from time to time ;).

Thursday, May 10, 2007

The Light of it all

I have always felt a special connection with the word "light" and all that comes into your head when you hear it...the most interesting things in this world ca be seen and created with the help of light. My name meas a little light, the first rays of the sun make me so relaxed and happy, I just have to catch them after an eventful and sleepless night, the first rays of spring, the light of a candle on the first Easter Night, fireworks at New Year's Eve...everything is light.

What does this word make you think about?

Tell me!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

The Dalilian ant

Yesterday was a surprisingly pleasant day...I did a lot, I wasted a lot, I thought a lot, walked a lot, felt a lot...everything unplanned.



I was looking forward to a few hours of doing what I wanted, with someone whom I really like, but 16:00 never existed, it was erased from my watch, along with it...all the plans.

I read memorably-intricate-and-exquisitely-wicked-from-dot-to-dot sentences in Dali's Journal. Every word poured in my brain like a drug, but one that kept me more awake than ever. Words, silvery-decaying fish, Hitler's buttocks, football on the peers, discussions about the power of keeping your mind safely sane and tea, delicious tea, filled with friendship, dare and the usual aberrations.

The last cup I received was like the late plot of the day. My M47 cup was invaded by a M27 cup of ant tea. Yes, there was an ant in my tea-cup and I was absolutely enchanted by the sudden change of scenery. Dead, perfectly sketched, at the bottom of a Moonlight tea-cup, there was an ant, Dali's ant, the ant that changed my day, the ant that I drank, I drank it willingly, I drank it almost ecstatic, as if Salvador's surrealistic essence was captured in that lifeless body, I drank it because I was dared to do it, but most of all, because I wanted to.

The park was dark and smelt like freshly cut grass (it reminded me of a different evening in a different park), the air was warm but pleasant, we sat and talked...about what we wanted, why we wanted it, how we wanted it. I realized some things, we elegantly banished an unwelcome-little-meddler and we dreamt with open eyes.

The night was filled with delicious confessions, chocolate, pillows, stars and the city panorama. I always wanted to spend a night on a secluded roof and just look at the sky...I didn't do that, but someday, maybe...

The bed was just right :D, the time was too late, my mind was far away, the sleep came crawling on my lashes, I let myself be powerless and swept into a dreamless sleep.

Such a strange day, such a pleasant day, such a close-to-perfection-day...still, I have to wonder...why? (again why, a particular why this time, only my why :)).

Monday, May 7, 2007

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Visa and the Northern Lights

After a 4-hour-back-aching-cold-enduring-waiting in line in front of the USA Embassy and after 2 very hard questions :D, I finally got my visa. This summer you can reach me at 108 Parkway, Stateline, NV, on the actual state-line. 8 of my friends (very funny and interesting individuals, Aida is amongst them of course) will join me.

The big plan is to visit as many cities as we can (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Reno, New York) and to have as much fun as we can...the American way. Actually I really want to SEE, HEAR and KNOW, first hand, what all the fuss is really about.

Since the moment I knew I was going to go for three months on the West Coast, I obsessively had one thing in mind...to reach Alaska and see the Aurora Borealis - a phenomenon that surpasses any human-made-artistic beauty.

So...California (and Nevada) here I come :D!


Best wishes,

Lumi


PS: Here's a glimpse of the light spectacle that the North's magnetic field has to offer (sorry but my youtube-download-function just seems to ignore me, so I'm gonna have to settle with these imagines).


Thursday, May 3, 2007

Bribe, Pancakes, AdBreak and HRM

A known-to-be-busy day should start with the awaking from a good-8-hour-night-sleep, a shower, a nutritious breakfast and the eagerness of solving all your to-do-list.

Well...I didn't exactly did all that...I woke up after a 4-hour-night-sleep, took a fast shower and ate two schnitzels with bread at Aida's in the morning. Yesterday (I see it's 2 in the morning now) was a day of confronting the system. I think it is absurd for a 21st century institution not to provide the necessary paper-work for a tax-paying-citizen's-kid. Aida and I bribed the secretary with a five-tulip-bouquet today...our first bribe, the country is truly proud of us :P.
It seems that the saying "if you can't beat them, join them" nowadays applies to any-official-paper-related-situation...sad, sad, sad. It's sad because we were totally against bribing anyone, until we needed something urgent (What is to become of this world when even those who disapprove the methods use them while feeling guilty?)

This makes me think about the Romanian Health System. What happens if a person has no money and is in desperate need of medical attending? Do doctors today follow the Hippocrates Oath without looking in the patient's pocket first? It kind of makes me a little scared now, at 2 in the morning, because I'm shaking with a start of a fever and I don't feel very yes-I-can-hardly-wait-to-do-the-project.

I always seem to do my homework a few hours or minutes before deadlines, I hate it when I have to sacrifice yet another night's sleep, just because I was too lazy to do the simple-damn-project the weekend before...I could really use some time management courses.

After today's paper race I actually had fun the rest of the day. I made pancakes with a couple of buddies of mine (by the way...super duper persons, but don't tell anyone ;) ), they were smeared with honey and Finetti...yummy (not the buddies...the pancakes were :D).

After the cooking session we all went to another AdBreak event in Music Club. It was quite interesting because I found out a few insights about TVC casting and it was also funny - Bobo entertained the audience with a little stand-up comedy bit about Florin Piersic, Magda Catone and a few annoying Romanian spots (TV spots that is).

Now...I think I wrote all the above just to prolong the period of idea searching for the HRM (Human Resources Management) presentation (today at 09:05 AM), actually the idea searching is an excuse...I sometimes linger on my blog just because I'm just full of tiredness and laziness.

Piece of advice (I know, I know, who am I to give advice?...Well, I'm a person who often learns from her own mistakes and doesn't want others to beat their head on the wall with the same problems that her life trips on)...so, the advice: Do a simple thing...Do your assignments (either work/school/or personal life related) on time...you have no idea how I crave, just once, to have everything done in due time, without sleepless nights.

Pleasant dreams my dear reader :),
Lumi