viaţa în oraşul-şantier

Acum că toţi iepurii din felicitările de pe facebook au fugit înapoi la locul lor în natură (hopefully nu în vreo oală ca fel de mâncare domestico-festiv), am îndrăznit să scot nasul din casă un pic. Ce-am găsit pe-afară deja nu mai e vreo surpriză pentru nimeni, dar pentru că totuşi sunt în vacanţă şi trebuie să rup cumva rutina somnicului de după amiază, mă gândeam că “sharing is caring”, aşa că iată un mini-pastel hiper-realist al urbei în care ne lăfăim zilnic (din seria denumirilor date în momente cu prea puţină luciditate).

De câteva săptămâni deja, mă gândesc serios că va trebui să înlocuiesc încălţările mele (deloc sofisticate de altfel) cu o pereche de gumari, care să facă faţă noului trend rustic de pe străzile Iaşului. Pentru că acum, mai mult ca oricând, simt că locuiesc într-un mare sat cu blocuri. Şi nu e rău, îmi place la ţară, iar Iaşul, din fericire, are şi copaci destul de mulţi, aproape destui cât să înghită tonele de praf de pe proaspetele şantiere ad-hoc. Ştiuuu, ştiuuu, sunt mofturoasă, dacă nu-mi place, n-am decât să mă mut, nu?

Ideea e cam aşa: aş ieşi cu mare drag la plimbare dacă m-aş mişca pe patru roţi în loc de cele două picioare pe care le am. Problema nu e că nu îmi place mersul pe jos. Ador să merg pe jos! Când plimbarea mea se transformă însă într-un slalom nebun printre utilajele de scurmat pământ cu roata mai mare decât înălţimea mea cu mâinile sus…păi atunci e cam greu să mă bucur de aerul curat. Dacă a mai rămas vreun pic, adică.

Îmi era destul de lene să merg pe jos acasă din centru, dar totuşi făceam asta destul de des, de dragul celor 30 de minute în care îmi dădeam voie să nu am nici un gând important sau enervant. Acum însă, încerc (degeaba, normal) să mă bucur de plimbarea mea pe jos. După vreo 10 ture până acasă şi-napoi pe strada Palat şi de mers prin şanţuri (literally), am încercat pe partea cealaltă, de la Hală pe Sf. Lazăr. Bineînţeles, şi acolo se sapă de zor. Ca cireaşa de pe gunoi, o monumentală sticlă (goală) de Finlandia tronează probabil şi acum în mâlul de pe trotuar/uliţă. Totuşi, nimic nu spune “beţivăneală” mai tare ca mirosul de pipi, îmbibat binişor de-acum în malul drept al Bahluiului. Asta oricum nu e ceva nou. Nou e faptul că pe aproape orice stradă ai alege să mergi, te chinui să nu îţi murdăreşti hainele şi încălţămintea şi nu pot să cred că nimeni nu a avut măcar un pic de consideraţie cât să sape străzile una câte una, ca măcar să ai un trotuar întreg pe care să mergi. Şi pe Lăpuşneanu se sapă (încă mi se pare amuzant cum ne strecurăm la ore în clădirea Romtelecom, ca nişte veveriţe la o cursă cu obstacole), pe la BCU, prin Copou etc.

De dragul progresului, am înghiţit în sec şi mi-am dat un şut în fund (mental), ca să rămân la buget şi să am abonament ieftin la toamnă. Nu, nu cred că se va termina tot înainte de 2013.  Nu, nu plec din oraş, vreau doar să mă pot deplasa pe stradă ca orice om normal dintr-un loc normal, că vine vara şi o să vreau să mă plimb seara prin oraş, să simt răcoare şi miros de copaci, nu praf şi moloz.

Pentru ele

De ce să scriu în română azi?

Poate pentru că e 8 martie şi aşa-mi vine mie. Şi poate pentru că această zi atât de specială nu m-a făcut să mă simt în nici un fel. Nu vreau să fiu hater şi să spun ca mulţi alţii “vaai, tu, urăsc rahaturile astea”. Să fim serioşi, orice persoană de sex feminin se gândeşte măcar un pic la ziua asta ca la o zi frumoasă. Şi e o zi frumoasă, e soare, le-am luat nişte floricele mamei şi bunicii mele, ele s-au bucurat, iar eu am zâmbit, văzându-le pe ele zâmbind.

Şi e totuşi o zi specială. Am stat şi m-am gândit multişor de ce şi cum, iar concluzia mea a fost că le sunt recunoscătoare lor, femeilor care m-au crescut într-un fel sau altul. Sunt recunoscătoare şi proabil cu greu voi ajunge să le spun asta în faţă la fel de onest şi de simplu cum o scriu aici. Pentru că atunci când vine vorba de sentimente, cu greu găsim curajul şi lăsăm la o parte stângăcia pentru a spune lucrurile care ne populează creierele şi inimile zile sau chiar ani în şir.

Dar sunt într-adevăr recunoscătoare. Pentru mâinile muncite, care au făcut plăcinte în fiecare vară şi care au frământat pâine mereu. Pentru după amiezele nesfârşite în care nu mă puteam ridica de la birou fără să termin temele, pentru poveştile citite înainte de culcare, pentru devotamentul cu care am fost mereu ţinută de mână, chiar şi atunci când vroiam doar să cresc mare. Pentru orele de balet şi de muzică şi de limbi străine şi toate cele pe care nu vroiam să le fac întotdeauna la timp şi cu rigurozitatea dusă la extrem a omului perfecţionist. Da, aţi făcut din mine o mică obsesiv-compulsivă perfecţionistă şi atentă la detalii. Şi pentru asta sunt recunoscătoare. Pentru că mi-aţi repetat că nu pot să am un câine niciodată, dar m-aţi lăsat să îl iau şi să învăţ singură să fiu responsabilă pentru ceea ce îmi doresc. Pentru plimbările în Copou, pentru “zi bună ziua, că aşa e frumos!”.

Pentru baloanele colorate, trotinete, fulare legate peste nas iarna, pentru că întâi mergeam la grădiniţă şi mereu întârziai la cursuri, tuşi drag. Şi pentru că le mâncam şi te trezeai în sesiune că ai colţurile roase la foi.

Pentru că erai secretara directorului şi îţi rămâneau mereu prăjituri de la protocol şi mă duceai în birou să văd macheta clădirii şi să mă uit la plantele pe atunci imense, care arătau mai ceva decât grădina botanică pentru mine.

Pentru că m-ai învăţat să fiu puternică şi să mă descurc singură mai bine decât ar fi putut oricine să o facă. Pentru că îţi purtam pantofii ăia roşii de lac şi rochiile, pe care le târam pe jos fără jenă şi cântam şi spuneam că sunt la TV.

Pentru că oricât de multe aş spune, tot mai rămân atâtea nespuse şi îmi doresc să am într-o zi curajul să vorbesc la fel de uşor precum scriu. Pentru că fără voi nu aş fi fost.

Unplug.

photo source

Today I’m thinking about ways to disconnect. Because I’m addicted to those hours when I can do whatever I want. It has a lot to do with my laptop, I just couldn’t do without it, because seriously, almost everything is there. ALMOST. Thank God for that. But it has also a lot to do with music and spare time.

Yes, I’m thinking about what people do when they get home, when they’re on a break or just need to breathe and let go all thoughts.

I like to put my headphones on or go to a place with good music, ’cause that has a lot to do with mood, at least for me. It has to feel warm. Coffee or tea helps, nice lighting too, maybe even some pillows. Colourful ones. A book. A notebook, to jot down ideas. A hot shower and an awesome rock star impression works every time.

I think all these tiny things we do are highly addictive. It doesn’t really matter what we do, there has to be a way to just disconnect. Jump into a different mood, find a source of energy, some tranquility and get back up to the daily business.

So, what do you do to disconnect?

urban blues

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced that strange, sad, yet nice mood, that I usually get in means of transportation. During a flight, train ride or even a short 30 min bus ride, you sometimes pause your schedule-related thoughts and become sort of melancholic and meditative.

It happens very often to me and I feel like I’m part of a movie…maybe it’s because of the music in my headphones or just the streets I see through the frozen dirty window of the bus. I start thinking about people and life in general, about friends who live far away from me, about the future, the present, what I should do, what I want to do etc. Sometimes it’s sad…usually when the weather sucks. But other times it’s the most brilliant, mind blowing mood, that gets you going and doing things.

I’m not very keen on transportation in general, but I do believe that whenever we find ourselves in a vehicle and we’re alone, our mind roams around and finds hidden paths that make us feel special, even for a few seconds. It’s the “going on a road trip” feeling, like you’re running to the end of the Earth, like you’re allowed for a few moments to go blank and just let your mind run and take you wherever you want to be.

The paradox of being a hero

I’ve always thought that being a hero is all about others. You sacrifice yourself and quit choosing whatever would have been the easy way. Instead, you do everything humanly possible to help others because you want what’s best for them.

What is a hero?

Well…I usually think of firemen (I know, how stereotypical) or any other people who rescue others, when natural disasters take place. But anyone can be a hero. Even the guy who pushes you on the sidewalk when a car is about to run you over and you seem not to notice. Everyone has their own typical image of a hero. And what all these versions have in common is the generosity, the great courage, the fact that those people are responsible and care about others.

Is it so?

A while ago, a very dear person told me something that got me thinking. Heroes are selfish. How about that? The explanation is that people, even when they help others, have a selfish motivation. For instance, you might want to be a hero and rescue others because this way, you will be appreciated and popular in your community. Everybody loves and admires the person who has the guts to step up when others won’t. Even if you don’t necessarily care about the person that needs help or the situation you want to fix, you might like the public giving you credit for what a great thing you’ve done.

OK, so you’re not that selfish, you say.

Well, apparently even if you care about the people and victims and stuff, you are still selfish. This kind of motivation comes from your inner self, from the standards you have, from your ideal image of what is ethical to do and maybe even some religious ideas referring to kindness. Yes, you care about the people, you feel for them, but what you do further on, if you do something, usually comes from what society/your family/school/friends taught you. You choose the actions you do according to your ideas of what’s good and what’s bad.

Ultimately, the reason you help anyone might be the fear of remorse. Your conscience can make you feel so bad, that the true reason for you jumping in is because “this is the right thing to do”. Maybe that’s why some people chose not to care about animals. If over the years, they have formed a certain idea that portrays animals as “not important”, “just meat” or something like that, they might be the first ones to help a human, but also the first ones walking away carelessly when an animal is in pain.

So, what do you think?

Are we genuine when we say we help someone because we care about them? Or is it more like “we don’t want to feel guilty” for not taking action?

Image source: www.marathonmediation.ca

To change the world, you have to change the menu first

Or so says Gigi Padovani, member of Slow Food International. Sounds funny? Slow food (as opposed to…..you guessed it, fast food) is a fabulous concept, that has to be explored more. In a few words, it’s about sustainability, ecology, people, community, food and ethics.

“Slow Food stands at the crossroads of ecology and gastronomy, ethics and pleasure. It opposes the standardization of taste and culture, and the unrestrained power of the food industry multinationals and industrial agriculture. We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to the pleasure of good food and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our association believes in the concept of neo-gastronomy – recognition of the strong connections between plate, planet, people and culture.

Our Vision
We envision a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.

Our Mission
Slow Food is an international grassroots membership organization promoting good, clean and fair food for all. 

Good, Clean and Fair

Slow Food’s approach to agriculture, food production and gastronomy is based on a concept of food quality defined by three interconnected principles:

GOOD a fresh and flavorsome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of our local culture;

CLEAN food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health;

FAIR accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for small-scale producers.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization with 100 000 members and supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment.

A non-profit member-supported association, Slow Food was founded in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.”

This info came from the website of Slow Food International.

If you liked it and want some food for thought, here it is.

Fabulous artwork/gift idea: the collage

I have always loved gifts and the feeling of surprise that I got from opening them. And who doesn’t just adore presents? But sometimes it’s just hard to decide or you might not have enough money to match your bright ideas.

That’s why I just love handmade gifts! They say a lot about you and the person you’re giving it to, they are honest, sincere and the amount of effort you put into making them just speaks about how much you care about the special someone you are giving it to. Many of us are thrilled with the idea of manufacturing something, but simply lack the starting point, so that is why I am going to share my favorite gift idea and how it’s done.

One of my favorites is the collage. It can be done for pretty much anyone you are close to (my guess is that you don’t wanna make a collage for your boss, right?) and for just about any occasion. A birthday colorful collage or a happy graduation one with lots of nice pictures will be wonderful and tasteful.

Now, I know that not everybody loves collages, but don’t automatically think about that pop art flashy style. Your collage represents you and the person you are giving it to and you should do it according to things you both like.

So, for a start, you need a piece of cardboard to glue everything on; it can be whatever size you like, but I’d suggest A3 or A4 format. Just make sure you can find a frame to fit that size. For a softer look, you should choose a pastel gift wrap and use that as a background over the cardboard.

Before actually starting, you should think very well about the person that will get your very special gift. What things do they like? What colors? Do they like something specific, like a favorite flower, shape or pattern you could use in your work? Then, the most important part begins: looking for everything. My favorite sources are magazines or newspapers, but anything with pictures will do, as long as it has what you are looking for. You should cut the images, maybe some colorful letters too and write something nice. If you feel like drawing, you can add that element to your work, especially if it’s for children, they’ll love it!

Now, if you want to do it for someone older or more conservative, let’s say your mother or grandmother, I suggest using some beautiful black and white photos, maybe aged ones if you have some, pastel colors, some old newspaper fragments/words and handwriting or something written on a typing machine if you can. That will look amazing together and your loved ones will be really touched.

You don’t need a specific order of the elements, that’s the charm of a collage-you can put anything anywhere as long as it looks good. After gluing everything together with a non-liquid glue (try a glue for paper only, the liquid one can make bubbles and look bad), you can frame it. It’s not expensive and you shouldn’t use a very sophisticated frame, as it may look overdone. Your work is already sophisticated enough, so for a more modern look, use metal or colorful frames, for a more aged or traditional look, white wooden ones, or simply wooden. You can also choose a bronze frame for a vintage look.

Good luck crafting!

Stay girly, love summer!

Since fall is on its way and here in Europe (except for the Mediterranean area) winters are terribly cold, I decided the only weapon we’ll have against depressing moods in cold days are memories of summer. Because few people really hate summer and I sure am NOT one of them. I love summer, I love the burning sun, I love the heat on my skin, I love it all:)

Lifetime Spring/Summer 2010 from Lifetime Collective on Vimeo.

So, the question is, how can you have your summer favorite things in the cold season?

1. Yummy tummy

Since food is really important for me, I try to bring as many tasty things as I can in my meals. You don’t find as many fruit and veggies, but you can have some, even if they aren’t specific for summer. I try to eat dry fruit, make smoothies, salads and get the great taste of summer every day.

One other thing I like to do is grill the meat, because it reminds me of hot summer afternoons when you go out for a picnic and you make barbecue. Another treat is lemonade, which is my favorite summer drink and it’s really awesome when you make it in the cold season, with some mint and brown sugar.

Last but not least, we have the absolutely delicious ice-cream!!! You have a ton of flavors to choose from, a lot of syrups and glazes to brighten your day!

2. The nature, green trees, flowers, happy happy joy joy

Green makes you calm, energetic and fresh. Sunny days are perfect to go out and do things with excitement and a big smile. The things is…in the winter you don’t get green trees, soft wind and sunlight that much. How can you make up for it? Easy and effective. Flowers. Potted plants that look slightly exotic will transform your home in your very own small tropical island.

3. Lovely you

So, the point is, in summer you get exposed (in a good way, of course). You get to wear sandals, flirty dresses, colorful clothes, you have your wonderful tanned skin, YOU ARE A GODDESS!

How do you step up your game in the cold, sometimes mood-breaking winter?

Keep the colors! Wear everything you want, in bright colors, for this will make you act differently. It’s just like when you wear pretty, flirty lingerie and nobody knows it. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Dressing differently and bright won’t make you look like a clown if you adjust everything to your style, environment and personality. It’s a bold decision that will make a statement about who you are.

Wear foxy shoes! For me, they are the strongest item you can wear and they change everything. This way you take a boring outfit to the next level, you become feminine, you have instant amazing legs aaaand the list can go on. So go ahead and be girly!

Another great thing you can do is match your foxy shoes with a gorgeous pedicure. It doesn’t really matter if people don’t see it, just like the lingerie, it can make you feel sexy, girly, pretty and can put a smile upon your face.

For an extra touch, you can use a self-tanning spray and get that golden-sun-kissed skin back.

All in all, there are many things you can do to stay summery, you just have to try and explore the endless possibilities…

Photo sources:

  • tumblr
  • weheartit
  • flickr
  • thesartorialist