every day is a winding road

Hitch-hiking Competition to Odense

2012-02-12T16:56:00.002+01:00

It was a cold winter day. Hans Christian Andersen probably would have found that freezing weather as the perfect inspiration to write 'The Little Matchgirl". Well, anyway, on that cold winter day, 7 brave hitch-hikers with no matches decided to compete on who gets to Odense first.

I was off to a good start. Was at the meeting point in front of Sydhavn station 30 minutes earlier because of misunderstanding the event description. By the time the last ones arrived, one hour had passed and the cold had determined me to go in a Netto supermarket 3 times. The girls working there were very nice. They allowed me to use their bathroom :).

The 7 of us took some photos and wrote a couple more hitch-hiking signs and were off in haste. I teamed up with Joren and we were very lucky to catch the first ride. At 11:43 sharp we were at the Seven-eleven in the centre of Odense, buying some sweets and almost forgetting to ask for the receipt that would later be the proof of us reaching the destination first. The prize of the competition: two huge Chupa-Chups that had 10 lollipops inside. They matched our jackets!

After a walk around the centre, Joren and I took shelter in a Baresso, where we waited for the rest. Once the gang was reunited, everyone took out their sandwiches and cookies and we had a picninc in the cafe, like the true hitch-hikers that we are. Full stomachs gave us courage to face the cold again and walk around some of the city sights. We didn't pay much attention to them, we were busy fooling around. Highlights of the tour:

Cardboard Sledging

The Fall of Fedrik

Ice Pancakes

Around 16.30 we started thinking about hitch-hiking back. We split up again. Within 10 minutes, Sonia, Vale and Fedrik caught a ride. Soon after, so did Ola and Judith. One hour later, Joren and I were still on the side of the road, while the prospects were grim. It was getting dark. We had no more warm tea. Luck definitely wasn't on our side. Finally, a nice lady whose car smelled like yummy food that made our mouths water was kind enough to take us to the highway. From the car, we saw Sonia, Vale and Fedrik on the side of the road. So the ride they caught only took them out of the city. They were really trying hard to catch the attention of drivers. The sight in itself was quite funny. But when the thought that they caught the first ride came to mind, it didn't seem so funny anymore. But still, seeing them there made us feel less sorry about us having bad karma. However, any sort of positive feeling soon wore off. At 18.00 we still hadn't caught a ride, it was totally dark, so we decided to go back and catch a train. The other 3 did the same.

We were back in Copenhagen at a bit before 21 and went to Sonia's for tea, warm cocoa and pasta al pesto. For which we were all incredibly grateful :)!

Now that's what I call a day well spent! The depressive H.C. Andersen would have frowned at how much fun we had!

P.S. Joren posted a very cool video on his blog *which unfortunately is in Dutch - I meant the blog, not the video*. Check it out here (scroll down to get to it).

The BEST Knock Knock Joke I Ever Heard

2012-02-08T12:47:00.001+01:00

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
*silence*

Knock, knock!
Who's there???
*silence*

Knock, knock!!!!!!
Who the heck is there? Is there anyone there? Hellooooooo!
*the wind blowing*

Knock, knock!
Will you stop knocking if you don't want to talk to me?
*silence*

Knock, knock!
*silence*
*the wind blowing*

Knock!

*silence*
*the wind blowing*

Knock?

*silence*

*silence*

*THE WIND BLOWING*

*SILENCE*

Cool Jokes

2012-01-26T18:01:00.000+01:00

Tagline humour inspired by the fact that my room has been 13 degrees cold for the past 3 days.

Book a week in Lavinia's room and slow down your aging process!

~~~~~

Balea Lac Ice Hotel opens subsidiary in Copenhagen! Check our offers on this website:

www.fucking-cold.dk

~~~~~

Lavinia's Room - for all products that need to be stored in a cool place!

~~~~~

Lavinia's room - the Siberia of Denmark. *credit to Andreea Folea for this one*

~~~~~

Snaps always tastes better when it's cold. Come enjoy a shot with Lavinia in her room.

~~~~~

We interrupt this programme for a flash weather forecast! Dear viewers, as you can see on the map, the mass of cold air which has been hovering in Lavinia's room will make its presence felt tomorrow as well. Temperatures will range between 12 and 14 degrees and humidity will be high. Wind through the balcony door intensifies in the morning and evening.

~~~~~

Lavinia's room - the perfect place to train your Saint Bernard to rescue frozen people!

~~~~~

If you're planning to climb the Everest, you need to train in cold weather. For 500 DKK, book an hour's training in Lavinia's Room. Cold temperature assured!

Please bring your own weights and mat.

~~~~~

Who needs a fridge when you have Lavinia's room?

Lavinia's room - the place where fruit and veggies last for weeks!

~~~~~

Lavinia's room - quality control warehouse for sleeping bags that should keep owners warm in appallingly low temperatures.

~~~~~

Do you come from the Sahara desert? Have no idea what real cold feels like? For unforgettable experiences, call Lavinia at 0045 25****77.

~~~~~

Hates of Today

2012-01-25T00:58:00.000+01:00

16 degree warm rooms and broken heaters.
Goran.
People that don't answer messages and emails promptly.
People that don't do what they should when they are supposed to. Or when they are reminded of what they should do.
People that owe money for too long.
People that don't know what they want.
*that's a lot of people - and they include me whenever I fit into the category*
Sore joints.
Neverending "to do" lists.
When things are expensive.
My financial management course.
ING Bank.
Humidity.

What sort of go me over the hates of today:
My mother.
Cristina.
Andreea.
Room dancing.
My hoodie.
Half a bottle of white wine.

Nu e.

2012-01-06T23:38:00.002+01:00

Nu e
vin in pahar,
nici zapada la munte,
sunt vorbe-n zadar
si lucruri marunte.

Nu e
nici o carte postala,
iar penita e goala
am spus tot,
nu mai pot.

Nu e
loc de mai mult
sau rost sa te salut,
Nu-i nici un "noi doi",
Nu e ce vrem noi.

*30. dec. 2011 - pe maxi taxi Pitesti-Bucuresti*

Goodbye, Romania!

2012-01-06T23:03:00.001+01:00

Goodbye, mother! Goodbye, brother! Goodbye, friends!
Goodbye, boulevards of banks, pharmacies and flower shops!
Goodbye, billions of Christmas lights that shine brighter than in Vienna!
Goodbye, Bran!
Goodbye, sledging on plastic bags at Capra lodge!
Goodbye, sheep in front of the Mayor's House!
Goodbye, talkative taxi drivers from Actual!
Goodbye, friendly stray dogs that still remember who I am!
Goodbye, bumping into people that tell me I've changed so much since I was a kid!
Goodbye, A1 highway to Bucharest and my favourite minibus driver!
Goodbye, affording to go out every day!
Goodbye, watching Mircea Badea while lazing on the best sofa in the world!
Goodbye, semi-snowy Transfagarasan!
Goodbye, stores in Fortuna!
Goodbye, Arges river and EuroMall!
Goodbye, Old School Pub, Garden, CubA and Ceainarie!
Goodbye, walking at night on The Big Street!
Goodbye, disorganised queues at Otopeni airport!
Goodbye, smokers and telephone addicts!
Goodbye, Campari Orange!
Goodbye, Auchan Pitesti!

I love you all!

The Remains of the Week

2011-11-12T14:06:00.001+01:00

Life is better than the movies.

On Friday, 4 November, I wanted to borrow Gautier's bike, but was unable to open the lock.

On Saturday, 5 November, I wanted to go swimming. I had some prepaid entrance tickets to the swimming pool that I wanted to use. But I realised I had taken them to my new apartment in Copenhagen *that's me bragging*. I went anyway.
After swimming I wanted to spend some time in the sauna. I overdid it in there and got sort f dehydrated. Almost passed out. Paula had to call a lifeguard. He directed me to a room with a couch, lent me his jacket, brought a huge blanket and a jug of warm water I was supposed to drink. He saved me :)! Paula did too :))!
When i got home, I wanted to have something warm to eat. I only had one pot, eveything else was already in my new apartment in Copenhagen *bragging again*. Easiest choice: polenta. I put the water on the hotplate. Next: put the polenta in the pot and stirr. Opened the drawer where my coking utensils used to be. Fuck, I have nothing to stirr into the pot with. I only had 2 plastic sporks (a gadget with a fork at one end a spoon at the other) that I got asa gift from Andreea. Needless to say, plastic sporks aren't the best thing to stir into a steaming pot of polenta with. Well, so far for a warm meal. Went for a can of tuna instead. Wanted to add some lemon to the tuna. Thought of using a spork to squeeze the juice easier. I broke the spork. *Thanks for the present Andreea, but where can i buy a new one?*
At the end of the day, i told my ex that i never want to talk to him again because it was too hard to cope.

On Wednesday, 9 November, I caught a cold. Still have a sore throat.

On Thursday, 10 November, my computer broke down. Completely. I was online on messenger. I heard the sound letting me know I have a message. I looked at the screen. It was my ex. He said 'Good evening'. Next thing, computer froze. Restarted it and got a black screen. It was too funny and ironic to keep that to myself. I called him. We laughed about it. I realised I had never heard him laugh while we were together as much as he did during that 5 minute phone call. That made me a bit sad.

On Friday, 11 November, I tried to find out what was wrong with my computer. Ended up at Rux and Poul's. It turned out my hard disk is toast. I probably lost all the stuff I had on. *Thank you for the help, guys*. While meddling with the computer, my phone rang. It was mum. She called to let me know my dad died. His sister found him lying on the bed. The funeral will be on Sunday. I won't be attending.

Ramasite

2011-11-12T10:10:00.001+01:00

Au ramas firimiturile de pe masa,
oul care se-nvarte si-asteapta,
fardurile sparte si moarte
pe care le-am dat la o parte
Si moarte.

A ramas jaluzeaua trasa
si-ecoul din casa,
parerile de rau - toate,
nimicul de dupa sfarsit
si-un inceput amortit.

Am ramas noi,
mai altfel decat inainte,
unul mai mic, altul mai mare,
amandoi franti, prafuiti
si cu mainile goale.

A ramas toamna de-afara
si-o prietenie amara,
cantece multe si triste,
ganduri pierdute-ntre frunze brumate
si vantul - spulberandu-le pe toate.

They Say IT All

2011-11-06T11:00:00.002+01:00

Hit play!

“The things I wanted, I could never get by asking or fighting for them. How can you fight for tenderness and gentleness, the best you can do is wait for them.” - Octavian Paler

This one's in Romanian, folks!

2011-11-05T19:24:00.001+01:00

Pierzanie

Iar te-am pierdut printre degete
fiindca ai plecat pe furis
in Iadul tau de vise marete, dar grele,
de dorinte ce ard, scot scantei si fumega,
de regrete, indoieli si de frici.
Cand esti acolo - fara sa stii - devii gri,
mic, mut, surd, orb si ciung.
Te intorci sfarsit si pustiu,
cu ochii albastri indreptati spre pamant
si cu sufletul cat o ghinda
pe care o tii strans in pumn
ca sa n-o pierzi in buzunarul gol
al viitorului ce se asterne in cale-ti.
(4 Nov. 2011)

Tag, I'm It! The Versatile Blogger Award

2011-10-17T20:38:00.000+02:00

Everyone likes a good game of tag! and there are many different versions. Bloggers have their own, and one of them is „The Versatile Blogger Award”. I’ve been tagged and this entails a few things I now need to do.

First, as with any award, I should take out my speech from my purse and start reading. It goes something like: „I would first like to thank Paula, who nominated me as a versatile blogger. I would of course like to thank God for giving me divine inspiration to write these amazing blogposts :P. My family and friends for their support and last, but not least, my fans, for always being there. I would be nothing without you” *while I read the last sentence, you can clearly see a solitary tear gleaming down my left cheek*.

Secondly, I have to share seven random facts about me. Here goes:
1) I am writing this blog post on the train from Copenhagen to Aarhus. *doesn’t get more random than this :D*
2) *Oh, wait, I have another one, even more random* I have seat number 104.
3) *I could also tell you the number of the waggon, too, but I’ll get serious with these random facts, or else Paula will un-nominise me* My favourite colour is green.
4) My first memory is from when I was 4 years old. I remember the lights of the Constanta amusement park at night. I think I have a really bad memory, because most others have memories from an earlier age.
5) I like to dance in my room. Sometimes I do it when I am really sad, sometimes I do it when I am really happy. In the latter case, I tend to snap my fingers as well while dancing.
6) I sang in a church choir in my hometown for 2 years.
7) I did a 30 m free fall into a safety net.

And out of the goodness of my hear, here are 2 extra ones, so that there are 7 serious ones :p.
7*) I took part in a pillow fight flashmob downtown Aarhus.
7**) I eat a lot of cheese.

Lastly, I have to tag 3 bloggers as being versatile. So, the nominations for the Versatile Blogger Category are *opening the envelope*:

Cristi, Madalina and Bianca.

Looking forward to your 7 random facts and nominations, guys!

Like the Chorus Says

2011-10-15T12:06:00.000+02:00

Still Hearing Wedding Bells 2 Months and 10 Days Later!

2011-09-26T09:49:00.001+02:00

2 months and 10 days ago I went to Mihaela and Alex's wedding. I only managed to upload the photos last night.

Casa de piatra!

From Mihaela & Alex

The rest of the photos are here.

23 August

2011-08-24T11:45:00.000+02:00

That's a day of switching sides.

In 1944's Romania, there was a coup d'etat lead by King Mihai. It resulted in the country switching sides in WW2 - from an ally of Germany to an enemy. As with everything else in history, one can't draw a line and decide if the consequences were entirely good or bad. We gained Transylvania, but lost Basarabia and Bucovina. The Romanian army fought all the way to the Berlin wall. Some historians say Romania had a key contribution in winning the war. We were ultimately on the victorious side, but ended up being a communist country. It's debatable what good that did us.

In 2008, on the same day, I also switched sides. I came to Denmark. That was 3 years ago yesterday. There are many good things that came out of that and some bad ones, too. But, as with everything else in history, one can't draw a line here either. Not just yet, especially because this history is under development. In any case, just like Romania was, I'm pretty sure I'm on the victorious side.

Manifesto

2011-08-23T10:33:00.000+02:00

Hit play!

If there's one thing I learned this year, it is not to give up without a fight.

After 7 months of painstaking thesis writing, I came up with a couple of pages of conclusions to wrap up my paper. But the most important conclusion, overshadowing all of the others, was that if I really want something, I have to fight for it. There's no such thing as a free lunch, as Tom Aabo used to put it. These days I was reminded of that.

Cliche or not, it's true. One doesn't get what one deserves. One gets what one fights for.

This is my manifesto.

Thanks, Daniel!

2011-07-05T21:30:00.000+02:00

This time last week I was enjoying Your Rainbow Panorama on the roof of Aros, Aarhus' art museum. Daniel got me in for free. We snuk in through the back door...

Feast Your Eyes on...

2011-07-03T01:44:00.001+02:00

Taken by: yours truly
Photoshopped by: Bebe

Cakes of Summer

2011-07-02T03:18:00.005+02:00

Hit play!

*The song has no connection whatsoever to the blog post, but it's a GREAT summer song!*

There's something about Denmark and cake. Everyone loves cake here. Lots of cake. And since there were very many birthdays and events going on recently, I had plenty of chances to put my baking skills to the test!

Today Andreea and I made the 4th cake in the last 4 weeks! And the second in the last 7 days :). It was a Fake-Tiramisu, because it had whipped cream instead of mascarpone cream and whiskey instead of coniac, but *almost* no one complained. It was for Inga's 32nd birthday.

The one before last was for Lenka's 25th last weekend. It was also an Italian recipe (which I got from my Italian penpal Ester). It's called Torta Ubriaca (Drunk Cake) because it's made with red wine. And a lot of cocoa! *whadaya know! I just noticed that both cakes contain alcohol :)*

Well, since I don't want to be drooling by myself here, I'll post some photos.

Romaniaaaaaa!

2011-06-30T23:53:00.001+02:00

My really filthy neighbours are playing really loud music which is really really annoying!

Since I can't sleep anyway, I thought I'd let everyone know that I am coming to Romania (AGAIN!). I'll be there from 15 - 24 July. I'll be in Bucharest on 17 July, so those of you who want to meet me, please call or text me at 0727 858530. I won't be able to send emails/call everyone before, so I hope you see this blogpost.

I am looking forward to Mihaela and Alex's wedding and to my 10 year secondary school reunion! Actually, no... Let me rephrase that, I am f**king excited!

"To zee airport!"

Summer Travels

2011-06-22T20:31:00.003+02:00

London: Tyburn Tree, Oliver Cromwell's hanging place :)

Sønderborg: the harbour

Skagen: Grenen

Rome: Villa Borghese

2 month blogging break :(

2011-06-06T15:20:00.000+02:00

Well, it's been really hectic these past 2 months. I had my defense on 14 Apr, so now I'm unemployed and looking for a job *open to hearing about any openings you might know of or recommendations/tips you might have*.

I was also in Romania for 3 weeks and yes, it still feels like home! It's great to go back after almost one year and a half and feel like I never even left, that people still consider me a close friend. I made some nice memories in those 3 weeks, which seem so much sweeter now that I am back in Denamrk and thrusting forth into the harsh reality of jobsearching.

Until next time, I'll leave you with some photos from Ciucas Mountains, © Ionut Pana.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon Pastime

2011-04-10T17:25:00.000+02:00

This was the first truly sunny weekend of spring! And with it came all other spring-related matters: twittering birds, green grass and flowers, as well as flat tires. So this Sunday afternoon Andreea and I were tending to our crippled bikes. Andreea had a pebble-induced flat tire. I, on the other hand, had a self-induced one. Let me explain...

A week ago I had a back tire flat and decided to buy a proper bike pump so that I wouldn't have to go to the bike shop to inflate my tire after every flat I fix. So I am now the proud owner of a new pump (which I have to admit I rather enjoy using). A few days after I fixed it, I got a front tire flat. Whoopee! Fixed that one too. This afternoon, it seemed to me that my tires were a bit flat. So I inflated them, using my brand new pump. Went inside the apartment and a minute afterwards, heard a "BOOM!!!!". Turns out, I put too much air in the front tire and it literally exploded! So I had to change the tube. Here's a shot of the exploded one. The 10 cm long "hole" says a lot about my mechanical abilities...

Moral of the story: It's always exciting to use new stuff you buy. But be careful not to OVERUSE them!

Update!

2011-03-14T23:18:00.001+01:00

It's been too long since I last posted. In the meantime, a lot of stuff's been going on, so I'll give you all a short update.

VIP (Very Important Paragraph)
Handed in my masters thesis on International Women's Day. I think I'll have the defence on 14 April *hasn't been confirmed yet*. Anyway, I already bought the ticket to Bucharest, so I'm very pleased to inform you that I'll be in Romania between 21 April and 11 May!

Other than that, I've started looking for jobs, which is bound to be a long and arduous process. Have to start Danish as well, hopefully soon. Still writing for Insight.

One a more dramatic note, we've been ROBBED! Someone cleaned up almost all our stuff from the storage space in the basement *most of it was Andreea's - unluckily for her and luckily for me*.

I'll end this very random post by boasting about the fun stuff I've been doing. I saw The National here in Aarhus *bloody awesome show that was!!!*. I had an amazing 8 March with Andreea *we went to the Tax Office to file a complaint against them asking for money. Not only did they figure out we have nothing to pay, but they also found they owe us some dough!* To celebrate, we went to see King's Speech at the cinema. AND I've had a 100% Romanian dinner at Paula's this Saurday. Haven't had one in 13 months.

I'll leave you with the coolest postcards I got through Postcrossing.

Bournemouth, UK

Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA

Varese, Italy

City of Vladimir, Russia

Motivation ?!

2011-02-11T22:40:00.000+01:00

This one goes well with my last couple of weeks of thesis work. Mustn't forget that!

For more things we forget, check out the site.

Guess Who Has a Column!

2011-02-09T20:46:00.000+01:00

Damn, that sounds fancy!

I wrote an article for a magazine put together by the International Community - an expat group in Aarhus. It's about Danish customs and traditions. And since I'm going to keep writing the article for the future issues, I guess I could say I have a column. The magazine's now out, so you can read my article on pages 32-33.

Looking forward to your comments and of course, kudos!

Iron&Wine

2011-02-07T11:06:00.001+01:00

Spent an hour and a half on Saturday night staring at a small bearded guy and absorbing his music through my ears and nostrils and all my pores. I felt like being selfish and didn't want to leave any note for anyone else.

He had a very good appetiser, an American country-ish songstress, Tift. It was just her and her guitar, but man, she could draw everyone in and fill the concert hall with her voice. *it was the same guitar as in the video below*

As for the "big man" himself, I was expecting something quaint and really quiet, and when I saw how short he actually is, I thought "Yup, that's what I'm gonna get", but, oh boy, was I wrong. It wasn't a one man show at all, there were 6 musicians on stage apart from him and he was playing on 3 guitars (no, not at once, but one at a time).

He had new arrangements for the old songs and the new ones were f***ing amazing! Light and heavy at the same time, but at all times powerful. Loved the rhythm breaks and the changes in the pace of the songs. Kept me hooked and wondering what'll it be next. I totally OD-ed on Saturday, which is why I only got to write about it on Monday, needed some time to recover.

Good Night!

2011-02-01T23:15:00.000+01:00

A Walk in the Park

2011-01-31T15:13:00.001+01:00

You, you go on ahead
for a while,
I'll let myself led
for a while.

Watch you tread
the dusty paths,
shuffle your feet
in leaves and grass,
wave your arms
as you walk,
prize your charms
as you talk.
You dance with ferns
and smile at birds,
whistle, clap and chant,
as i fall behind.

You, you go on ahead
for a while,
I'll let myself led
for a while.

When your silhouette
Passes out of sight,
I light a cigarette
And I make a right.

Update 3: List of Firsts with Elisabeth

2011-01-29T13:10:00.000+01:00

1) first salsa class *this one was sometime in May 2009 and the beginning of a beautiful friendship*
2) first Norwegian dishes: Norwegian sun cake, Norwegian fish caserole, Norwegian rum cake.
3) first sandbox built *or helped build*
4) first shopping spree in Bilka
5) first trip to Legoland
6) first viewing of "The Godfather", "The Italian Job", "I, Robot", "Footloose"
7) first time fixing a car's flat tire
8) first time steering the car from the passenger seat
9) first Snapple - cuddling kiwi&strawberry: "in the summer, the walnuts get a tan"
10) first taste of homemade tortillas with the works: extra cheese on top, guacamole and salsa
11) first homemade smoothie
12) first taste of chilli con pollo and homemade lasagne
13) first stroll around downtown Randers
14) first time stealing someone else's shopping cart and loading groceries on the conveyor at the cash register... oops!
15) first time having to put the groceries back in the cart and find the exact same spot where I took it from, hoping no one noticed... double oops!
16) first taste of the world's best cauliflower soup
17) first sight of the "Seagull Kiss"
18) first brunch in Römer
19) first drive through Jutland in the snow
20) first time in Salling parking lot *this one might actually be the most important item on the list*
21) almost the first rescue of another person. You know that scene in the movies where there's a person crashing in the middle of the sidewalk and it just happens that there's a doctor/nurse nearby? Well, that almost happened... but the person - an old lady in our case - wasn't having a heart attack, she just slipped on the ice. We almost jumped out of the car yelling "she's a nurse, make some room!", but quickly realised there was no need to do that *DAMN!, that would have been an awesome first*
22) first salsatek in Cafe Rival. I'll quote Elisabeth on this one: "the first and probably the last"
23) first time trying Columbian salsa and cumbia
24) first crème brûlée in Denmark. The worst crème brûlée I've EVER had, to be honest, but hey, if it wouldn't have made in on my list of firsts as "the first in Denmark", it would have made it as "the first taste of the world's worst crème brûlée".

The Two of Them

2011-01-29T13:00:00.001+01:00

They are worlds apart,
but they're tied together
by the thinnest thread,
stretching over oceans,
binding their emotions.

The champion, with his hair in a swirl,
and his angel-winged and holy girl,
and their thread,
as strong as he,
as beautiful as she,
levitating
when of her he thinks,
resonating
when she flaps her wings.

Silver moons belong to them.

And my idiot heart of lead
got tangled in their mighty thread,
and it melted, and it softened,
and got shredded and got blackened.

Photo Project FTW... NOT!

2011-01-26T15:35:00.004+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I got this pretty interesting idea *I thought*. Since I'm going to school everyday, I could take my camera each time and cross the street after the lunch break to take a photo of the same part of the botanical garden. I was thinking of doing it until I finish my thesis, but I really don't feel like going through with this. Every time I go, a voice inside my head keeps telling me "You should be working on your thesis". That sure as hell ruins it for me. Plus, I don't like how the photos turned out *I picked the spot with the worst lighting, of course*, so there's not much incentive to see this thing through. Well this is what I have so far. *Come to think of it, I could probably shuffle the photos I have and get a full album, like originally planned, since the weather's probably be similar for the next weeks, but neaaaaah* Here's to things we start but leave unfinished!

13 January

14 January

15 January

16 January

17 January

18 January

19 January

22 January

23 January

My Good Deed for This Year or Daneza Fara Profesor

2011-01-23T13:51:00.002+01:00

I usually only do one good deed per year. I decided to get that out of the way for 2011 and to make some people happy.

Seems like there are a lot of Romanians trying to learn Danish, so I decided to post some useful links they *as well as any other people who would like to learn Danish* could use in this respect.

Learn grammar and do online exercises here.

Practice pronunciation here. This site actually has a lot of pronunciation guides for a bunch of languages. There are about 6,000 words in Danish, so that will keep you busy for a while.

Find a good dictionary here. You can only search for 2 words a day for free, though. Here's a free dictionary as well. You can of course also use Google Translate. When I came to Denmark it was pretty crappy, but it has improved a great deal since.

Find a phrasebook with pronunciation here. You can learn to pronounce basic stuff (colours, numbers) and some phrases that will come in handy at the table, for example. They have a fun section about Danishisms here.

Remember that patience is a virtue, and that it takes a lot of patience to learn this language. Let me know how it goes, I love to hear about people having a hard time *evil laugh*!

Happy Postcrossing!

2011-01-22T20:02:00.000+01:00

Some of you might already know that I like sending and receiving postcards. I'm usually the person who empties out the add-card racks in the pubs. What's more, the Danish Postal Service earns a fortune on my back, and not just around Christmas and New Year's. Some of you might also have read about my birthday presents from last year (if not, you can find the post here).

Well, anyway, what I wanted to share was something that Andreea came across, and which is really interesting. It's a project called Postcrossing. You sign up on the website, fill in a profile and click a button to receive a random address that you then have to send a postcard to. And in return, you receive postcards from people you don't know. Already sent my first postcard today, to someone in Poland. Looking forward to finding something in my postbox as well.

P.S. If any of you would like a postcard from me, let me know. You'll get one IF you promise to send one back. And if you want to be the one to start, my address is: Lavinia Andrei, Karensvej 38, 8220, Brabrand, Denmark.

Library Glances

2011-01-18T09:59:00.001+01:00

Well, sorry guys, but since I'm spending almost all my awake-time in the library these days to work on my thesis, don't have anything more thrilling to share than library - related stories.

This one starts with me sharing the fact I resent people sitting next to me and looking at my computer / papers *there's someone doing that as I am writing, as a matter of fact*. I like people that mind their own business. But there's this girl who always sits next to me and keeps glancing over to my desk. It's like she's bothered by anything I do. If I type, she looks at the computer screen, if I write something down she looks at my papers. If I eat something, she looks at me, even though I'm eating without making noise (like grapes that are already off the stem). She's studying finance, by the size of the calculator she's using, and she clearly doesn't find that too captivating.

Oh, good, she's gone now for a sec, but she couldn't leave before glancing at my computer again and trying to pretend like she was just running her hands through her hair and happened to turn her head this way. Jeez, I am pretty sure I am not that interesting myself, so QUIT LOOKING THIS WAY!

Some people glance over in style. There was a girl who sat exactly next to me one day. The next day we were introduced and she knew the colour and brand of my laptop, as well as what I was studying. But I never noticed her looking. AND she mentioned she's a stalker. Her I liked. That's what I call class!

P.S. I just realised I am dissing the person sitting next to me. That's almost like dissing her to her face. If only she would know.... *evil laugh*

How to Sleep Less and Have More Energy

2011-01-07T10:32:00.000+01:00

I've had an ebook with that title for a very long time, but never got around to actually reading it. Now, that I'm writing my thesis, I thought it might be interesting to see if they have some techniques I could apply. So I spent a couple of hours yesterday reading it *instead of working on my thesis - NO, I was not procrastinating!*. It had some pretty useful tips that I'll share, since maybe there are others who might find this useful. Do the check-list while you read through, I did the same.

First of all, a little test: If you think the text in the photo is blurry, you really need to get some SLEEP! Take a nap of no more than 45 minutes and if you don't feel rested, it means that you have to improve the quality of your sleep during the night. You do that by following the steps below.

1) Get plenty of light. When you wake up, pull up the blinds and let the light in. Plan outdoor activities, go for walks, sit next to the window if indoors.
Well, that all sounds fine and dandy, EXCEPT for the fact that THERE IS NO SUN IN DENMARK IN THE WINTER. And January is the worst month of all. The sun rises a bit before 9 and sets at 16. But the sky is mostly clouded, so it makes no difference anyway. Note to self: buy a light box!

2) Exercise. Best time to do it is early in the morning. Don't exercise 3 hours before going to bed.
Check. I dropped biking this month, mainly because of the ice and the cold. But good thing I bought a bus ticket, I'm running for the bus evrery morning. And I also dropped going to salsa for a while, so no exercise 3 hours before bed *dunno if i should be happy or sad about the latter*.

3) Drink at least 1.5 l water every day.
Almost check. 1 l water and 0.5 of tea. Guess that goes.

4) Don't oversleep on weekends.
Almost check. It's hard not to...

5) Don't drink coffee!
They say that a cup in the morning is fine. So check!

6) No coke, no pop, no junk food!
CHECK!

7) Take a nap when drowsy, no more that 45 minutes.
Can't do that, I'm in the silent room at school and we're not allowed to snore in there.

8) Do trial and error tests regarding when it's best to wake up. Decrease sleeping time with 20 or 40 minutes at a time, and find what works best for you. Don't decrease by a lot at once, it won't work.
Check: 40 minutes less today and feeling quite perky *though it's only 10.20*.

P.S. As I was writing, I realised that today is actually quite sunny, so I felt a bit bad for dissing the weather. Better get a lot of light today, because the weather forecast for tomorrow has "SLEET" written all over it.

P.P.S. Although you might have guessed, the test with the photo is total bull. The image is blurred, so it makes no difference if you're tired or not, it's always unclear! *just to get things straight and put your mind at ease*

New Year's Resolution: More Blogging

2011-01-05T12:53:00.000+01:00

First post of the year is for Andreea G. Daca nu te misti *la scrisul tezei, ma refer", te risti! Si pe deasupra, TE SPUUUUUN!

Christmas 2010 Highlights

2010-12-25T21:26:00.008+01:00

In Skjoldhoej Dorm, Magic 88, after unwrapping the Christmas presents, one guy saw Andreea's electronic Sudoku game. The following conversation followed:
The guy: Whose is this?
Andreea: Mine.
The guy: Mine???

Andreea, Raphaela, Piotr and me finished cooking at 8, because that's when everyone was supposed to show up. Raphaela made a special German dish for Piotr, that is supposedly the dish he likes best in the whole wide world. People were kind of late, and Piotr insisted that we wait for everyone, even though we had separate food. But the last of them came a bit before 10. And they ate almost ALL of Piotr's favourite dish. Oh, if only I could describe the dissapointed look on his face when he found out that THERE IS NO MORE!

Secret presents! A hand-shaped pendant from Mexico was hidden by Andreea next to a chocolate, inside the wrapping. Found it one day after opening the present from her, when I ate the chocolate *awwwww* *and no, I didn't choke on the pendant*.

We conquered Himmelbjerg. In the freezing cold!

More photos here.

Romanian Music Rocks

2010-12-17T17:33:00.003+01:00

I think it's time I start promoting Romanian music. I've felt for a very long time that there's nothing to promote *except for a few band that have been around for a long time - Kumm, Urma, Luna Amara*. I think that's changed and there's a new wave that is really worth paying attention to. It might not sound as good to you as it does to me (especially if the songs are in Romanian, but hey, give Romanian music a chance!). I'm going to use a rating system - completely subjective. It's from 1 (min) to 5 (max). I am quite intrigued to hear your thoughts and opinions. More music to come, soon!

Toulouse Lautrec - "Te Spun" / "I'll tell on you" (5 out of 5)

Kumm - "Beautiful country" (5 out of 5 as well, and this one's in English, too yaaaay)

ROA - "Ne place" / "We like it" (4 out of 5)

Mes Quins - "Printeso" / "You, Pricess" (4 out of 5)

Byron - "Songul Puscariasului" / "The song of the incarcerated" (3 out of 5, but still a good one)

Lavinia ♥ Coincidences

2010-12-16T13:34:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I took the bus to school because I had left my bike there the previous evening. When I got to the library at school, I noticed I had lost an earring. I thought, "Damn, that's too bad. I really liked these earrings, I got them as a present from someone who I helped set up a company in Romania". Since there was no point retracing my steps and looking for the earring, I got used to the idea I'm not going to wear those earrings again.

Today, when I wanted to leave home to go to school again, I saw that it was raining heavily and I didn't feel like biking, getting wet and sitting in the cold library all day. No way I was going to catch a cold because Aarhus School of Business is too cheap to turn up the heat. So I decided to take the bus. I got to school got out of the bus and stopped at the red light. I bumped into someone. While chatting, I looked down and THERE IT WAS, MY EARRING! A bit scratched, trampled and dirty, but otherwise in tip-top shape. If it hadn't rained, if I hadn't taken that bus or bumped into that person, it would have turned out differently. In any case, I think I'll wear the earrings tomorrow.

*Totally off topic* here's some great LIVE Romanian music.

"Yes, Yes, I Know I Have Good Friends!" or "Epilogue to My Birthday"

2010-12-14T14:36:00.006+01:00

I don't think I've ever gotten as many presents for my birthday as this year. I think they're over 35 in all (that's a nice number, isn't it?!). But the funny thing is that they keep coming, even though my birthday was about 3 weeks ago. The most recent one is a postcard that I found in my mailbox last night. It is the 27th postcard I got for my birthday. This one is from Uzbekistan, from someone I don't know. It will probably be the last one and I think it is simply amazing that it turned out to be like this. You're probably curious why I said that. Well, I'll quote the text on the back of the postcard and you'll see why.

"Well, this one is definitely "from the wild" :)

You have good friends. Never take that for granted. Remember this every time you see this card :)

from @ddasmata"

Thank you, whoever you are. I couldn't have said it better myself! And I really can't describe my amazement when I read that text last night. It's not something you'd expect to read on a postcard, but it so perfectly sums up my thoughts and feelings. And it was a bit troubling to read my own thoughts in someone else's handwriting. In any case, it is the perfect epilogue to an amazing play spanning 24 years.

Song of the Day

2010-12-13T16:00:00.003+01:00

Mon cafard!?!?!

2010-12-12T15:15:00.004+01:00

The most popular topic of people's first blog post is about why they started blogging and why they named their blog the way they did. I didn't write that kind of blog post. I just jumped right into blogging, like I had been doing it for aaaaaages. But last night I uncovered some facts and came to the realisation that maybe I should write that post. So today, on the celebration of 2 years, 8 months and 11 days since I started this blog, here's the explanation.

The blog is named "mon cafard", a French word meaning literally "my cockroach", because I simply love cockroaches. I have a thing for those gross filthy creatures that lurk under the beds and in dark corners. I'm joking. I named it like that because I started writing when I was living in a dorm in Bucharest (called Moxa) that was simply infested with those creatures. They were everywhere, even inside drawers! We got rid of them eventually. Well, the exterminator did, anyway. Cockroaches are sort of a reminder of that year, which was one of the best years of my life.

But the word is a double-entendre (nothing naughty involved, though *hehe*), as was brought to my attention yesterday evening by Gautier. "Cafard" also means "depression". Who knows, maybe I was subconsciously aware of this other meaning and it all ties in with my decision to go to depressing Denmark for my masters (a decision which I made that same year I was talking about). That definitely explains why I ruled out all of Latin America. I can't take that much fun!

Well, there you go, yesterday night I've figured out the real meaning behind my blog's name, as well as the real answer I should give to people asking why I came to study in this country.

Trippin' Billies

2010-12-09T18:45:00.001+01:00

So why would you care
To get out of this place?
You and me and all our friends,
Such a happy human race!
We're tripping billies...

Self - Motivation Techniques

2010-12-06T13:41:00.002+01:00

I found myself feeling very sleepy while working on my thesis. And I couldn't get why, since I had had a good night's sleep. The nights before, as well. I also had coffee in the morning, so nothing added up. I then googled "oversleeping". And the first link listed some of its causes and effects. It might be caused by depression, stress or various illnesses and it might lead to obesity, heart problems or diabetes down the road. That info sure does paint a nice picture. I thought "Oh, no, I don't want to have ANYTHING to do with any of those", so I made myself some more coffee and here I am back on track and as perky as a schoolgirl in a new frock.

*Hope that helps some of you sleepy people out there haha*

Update 2: List of Firsts with Elisabeth

2010-12-04T15:55:00.004+01:00

1) first salsa class *this one was sometime in May 2009 and the beginning of a beautiful friendship*
2) first Norwegian dishes: Norwegian sun cake, Norwegian fish caserole, Norwegian rum cake.
3) first sandbox built *or helped build*
4) first shopping spree in Bilka
5) first trip to Legoland
6) first viewing of "The Godfather", "The Italian Job", "I, Robot", "Footloose"
7) first time fixing a car's flat tire
8) first time steering the car from the passenger seat
9) first Snapple - cuddling kiwi&strawberry: "in the summer, the walnuts get a tan"
10) first taste of homemade tortillas with the works: extra cheese on top, guacamole and salsa
11) first homemade smoothie
12) first taste of chilli con pollo and homemade lasagne
13) first stroll around downtown Randers
14) first time stealing someone else's shopping cart and loading groceries on the conveyor at the cash register... oops!
15) first time having to put the groceries back in the cart and find the exact same spot where I took it from, hoping no one noticed... double oops!
16) first taste of the world's best cauliflower soup
17) first sight of the "Seagull Kiss"
18) first brunch in Römer
19) first drive through Jutland in the snow
20) first time in Salling parking lot *this one might actually be the most important item on the list*
21) almost the first rescue of another person. You know that scene in the movies where there's a person crashing in the middle of the sidewalk and it just happens that there's a doctor/nurse nearby? Well, that almost happened... but the person - an old lady in our case - wasn't having a hear attack, she just slipped on the ice. We almost jumped out of the car yelling "she's a nurse, make some room!", but quickly realised there was no need to do that *DAMN!, that would have been an awesome first*

Bugs

2010-10-25T15:01:00.001+02:00

Somtimes, bugs can actualy be funny!

Florence, oh, Florence!

2010-10-10T01:38:00.001+02:00

I don't like people who ...

2010-10-08T12:57:00.005+02:00

... treat the others like crap just because they can afford to do that.

... use other people to their interest, either personal or professional.

... treat others nicely because they want something in return.

... think they can get away with all the above.

... actually do.

Berlin

2010-09-30T20:41:00.005+02:00

Sunset over Tempelhof

Charlottenburg

Potsdam

TV Tower

Brandenburger Tor

More photos here.

Dream (26 Sept 2010)

2010-09-27T10:13:00.005+02:00

WARNING!
All the events and characters are fictional. Absolutely no reference to people or places in real life is intended.

Mum bought me and my brother a set of toys each. A set consisted of a gigant sized toy house and a gigant sized toy car that looked very weird. It was like an engine that was put on top of a platform holding the wheels (resembling the frame of a shopping bag with wheels – see photo below).

The engine was secured with a metal bar and a lock going over the middle of the frame. The seats were somehow built over the engine - one on each side of the metal bar. The car was just big enough to fit us both in and nothing else.

Me and my brother decided this was the perfect vehicle to travel Europe in. And so we put on some goofy helmets and some goggles like the pilots from the beginning of the 20th century wear and we were off. We got all the way to Denmark, which was the last stop before going back home. I wasn’t living in Denmark in the dream, but I knew everything about the country, as if I had been living there. For example, I knew that there were many Romanians there and that some of them steal. I also knew the timetable for the bus that goes from Romania to Denmark.

Anyway, we were going to this fancy press conference that was somewhere near Aarhus. Jacques Chirac was also there (?!?!). We parked our fancy car on one of the levels of the parking lot, which had numerous levels like the Semiramida Gardens. The conference room was in a building on the top. When we went inside, there was an older lady in front of us and some press people. The old lady was very slow and seemed a bit unsure of where she wanted to go, as if she was looking for someone. The corridor was very narrow, so we had to stay behind her. We were a bit annoyed by her slowness, because we were very much in a hurry to get the „sightseing” done and move on to the next place. She finally went into a room, it was the one where Jacques Chirac was in. That’s where we also wanted to go, so we followed her. When she had stepped into the room, she looked around and called out „Jacques?”. Chirac then stood up, began waving frantically and started towards the door in a very unsuitable manner, almost hopping with the joy of seing the old lady. They both went out of the room and I remember thinking to myself „Ah, she was French”.

We then decided to go back to the car and continue or journey. But when we went back to the parking lot, we found that someone had stolen the engine (and the chairs which were built into it) and only left the frame behind. We were bewildered and couldn’t imagine how that was possible, since we had locked it before leaving. Me and my brother were sure some Romanians were behind it. We decided to split up and look around the parking lot for some clues. And so we did. As I was searching, I found a shack on a plot of grass. I started going towards it and when I reached it, 3 men came out from behind in a very menacing manner. One of them was holding a knife, and the other, a pair of sharp scissors. I was thinking to myself they should be the ones. I told them I was looking for a bathroom (in English of course, so that they are unsuspicious of me). They said they didn’t know, so I went away. I told my brother everything and after deciding there’s not much we can do about it ourselves, we sat down on the kerb like a couple of homeless people and started contemplating how we could go back home without our car. We thought about telling our mum to send the other toy car with the bus from Romania, but it was Friday and we had to wait until next Wednesday. So we decided to hitch-hike back.

THE END

The Night There Was a Full Moon

2010-09-22T22:45:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I went to Copenhagen for an event with Nordea (a Nordic bank). I stayed in Copenhagen until 22.00 and experienced one of the most interesting nights I've had in a while. I heard the wolves from the zoo howl at the moon while I was walking through Frederiksborg park in the evening. I saw the most interestingly lit sky. It was still blue, even though it was completely dark outside, and the moon shed a dusky light on the clouds. And on top of it all, my train, which was supposed to get to Aarhus at 01.20, arrived at 3.30 instead. We had to stop in Odense and wait for the rail to be cleared because a train that went before us ran over someone. No idea if it was an accident or a suicide. So I got home so late, that it was actually early. The streets were busy with newspaper boys delivering the morning papers. Good morning, Aarhus! Good night, Lavinia!

Free Falling

2010-09-06T11:12:00.004+02:00

30 metres free fall in Tivoli Friheden: check!

Playing detective

2010-08-25T10:42:00.004+02:00

Some of us were playing detective at the age of 4, I'm doing it at almost 24.

Saturday night: went out dancing. We started out in Social Club, the usual student hang-out and moved next door to Sam's Bar around 12.30 to change decor. We left our stuff in between one of the tables and the wall, on the floor. I hung my jacket on the back of the chair and we all went on the dancefloor. One hour and a half later we decided to leave because it was oh, so boring, only to discover that my phone was stolen. I had left it in my bag *by the way, that is common in Denmark, I have done that numerous times before with no consequences, and I'm not the only one*.

I talked to one of the guards at the front door and he said i should look for it some more. He probably thought i was drunk and had lost the phone. I went down to the bar to ask them if there's anything i can do, and the bartender talked to a guy who asked me where i was sitting and then led the way through some corridors to the security room where the cameras were recording. We saw 3 guys sitting at the table (my friends and I had noticed them sitting down and looking over, but we didn't put 2 and 2 together). The cameras recorded one of the guys leaning down to where our stuff were on the floor and then going through the pockets of my jacket. He was with the back to the camera, so we could only see his sweatshirt, but not his face. One other camera caught him crossing the dancefloor, but the face wasn't clear again. The security guy suggested we look around for him, since I could recognise his face. But he had already left. I went home, since there was nothing else to do. I was told to call back on Monday.

Monday: I was googling for the bar's number and saw a link with photos from that night. There were a couple of girls from CULT taking photos. Then I thought, maybe they photographed him as well. And I checked the album. That's how I found 2 very clear photos of him and his friends. I tried calling the bar, just like I was told, but no answer. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get my phone back, but it would be sweet revenge to get that guy and his friends banned from Sam's bar...

Here are his photos, does anyone know him? *the thief is the guy in the white sweatshirt*.

Salam e un nume popular

2010-08-09T13:05:00.004+02:00

"Gave" inseamna "cadou". Cine nu vrea un cadou de la Salam, nu stie ce pierde! Traiasca bazarul!

They Think They Can Buy Me With Candy

2010-08-07T12:08:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we got a bucket of candy from Dansk Supermarked because it was Bilka's birthday (Bilka is a supermarket chain). But somehow, that fails to make up for the rest. In any case, a bucket of candy is still better than no bucket of candy.

Things I Broke in the Fruit Department at Dansk Supermarked

2010-08-01T18:09:00.002+02:00

I was driving the forklift once and it was loaded with one huge garbage container filled with a lot of bindings and cardboard sticking out. My view was somewhat obstructed by that, so I managed to drive the forklift into a gate frame. The gate was open and I bent the gate frame so hard, I could barely close the gate. If I wouldn't have been able to close it, the warehouse would probably have ended up being scavenged at night and robbed of all its fruity possessions.

One other time I broke a piece of rope. A piece of rope of important purpose. The gate where we empty the trash containers opens by lifting it (partly by hand, partly by forklift). And of course, I managed to break the rope that we used to pull down the garbage gate to close it. I used the forklift and lift it too much. It made a nice loud snap, though... Again, if we were unable to close it, the warehouse would probably have ended up being scavenged at night and robbed of all its fruity possessions. But Maja saved the day *or night* and she climbed onto the forklift to pull the gate back down again.

The boss asked Maja and me to clean up the whole warehouse once. So we started vacuuming around. At some point during the operation, we had to move the vacuums to a different plug because the cords were too short. While I was pulling one vacuum cleaner, Svend drove his forklift right over the last part of the cord and snapped it. The plug got stuck in between the wheels and scraped on the floor until there was only half of it left. *alright, technically, it wasn't me who caused the damage, but i was part of it. And that plug looked mighty artistic at the end!*

And last, but not least, I broke my back, which is why I'm quitting the job tomorrow!

Sillogism

2010-07-30T08:36:00.003+02:00

The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain.
Denmark is plain.
----------------------------------------------
The rain in Spain falls mainly in Denmark.

Maze land

2010-07-25T15:57:00.007+02:00

This is unpaid advertising for Labyrinthia. It's a small amusement park with mazes. If you complete the largest one, you get a diploma. I did! They also have a "game room" where you sit down and try out lots of different games and puzzles. The entrance is really cheap and you get a student discount, too!

The colour maze

The rose maze

The rose maze

The 3D maze

The 3D maze

The Trojaborg maze

The balance maze

Again about my neighbours

2010-07-17T16:38:00.003+02:00

I've already told you about the crazy woman in number 4 in the building across (view this post about her - it's in Romanian though). I keep bumping into her these past couple of months, but anyway, that's not the point of this post. You also know about my Tampax neighbours. They're the ones with the watermelon pipe (read about that here). I call them Tampax neighbours because they have a huge box of Tampax in their window. But anyway, this post is not about them, either. It's about some other neighbours. I don't know which ones, unfortunately, since a lot of new people moved in recently. But they sometimes play the guitar and sing. I'll call them "the guitar neighbours". This afternoon it's "Zombie" by the Cranberries and "Hurt" by Johhny Cash. The latter was pretty good. I've heard them play some Bon Jovi a few days ago. Aaaaah, this reminds me of Romanian dorms. If you were lucky enough to have a neighbour that was a good guitar player, you actually found yourself thankful for those extra-thin walls...

For the Gilmore Girls Fans

2010-07-07T11:48:00.002+02:00

This is a short called "Gnome", starring Lauren Graham, which we all know very well as Lorelei Gilmore. It's about being judgmental while wearing a mask before everyone else. Enjoy!

WoRk wOrK WoRk

2010-07-01T09:17:00.004+02:00

For the next couple of weeks feel free to call me "The crazy person who has 4 different jobs". Either that or just simply "Wonderwoman", you're free to choose. I usually only have 3 *imagine that!*, but now I have been offered one more for the next fortnight. And of course I said yes, because there's a loooong list of expenses I have to take care of this summer. I will classify them *aka jobs* from the one which requires the least intellectual capabilities to the one which requires the most.

Two afternoons a week I will be working in a warehouse. This is basically a no-brainer job, but that doesn't make it an easy job. It may not require me to use my brain cells, but it requires me to flex my muscles. A lot. But hey, this pays the bulk of my bills. And for this, I have to thank the wonderful Dansk Supermarked, the company I *along with a million other international students here in Aarhus* work for.

Moving on. One morning a week I will be the cleaning lady. It's sort of a "get inside - do the job quick - get out* type of job. Very mobster-like, since the family is away and I have my own key, so I sneak in and get everything done while they're somewhere else. Only unlike a mobster, I use a broom instead of a gun.

Third job and finally one that requires a neuron or two is the job I've just been offered. It's a project that requires me to do telephone surveys. Alright, I admit, you don't have to be a genious to do it, just be able to dial a phone number, read the questionnaire and tick the answers you get. I'll either be calling the US in the afternoons (until around 23.00) or Australia in the mornings (from 06.00). It's going to be a strain on my opposable thumbs and mouth, since if I'm not busy talking and clicking/dialling, I'm busy drinking coffee.

And the last one, for which I get paid squat, but it's the only relevant job that I would not be reluctant of listing on my CV, is the business developer position for a Danish consultancy company. If it weren't for this job *which actually requires me to think*, I would just turn plain old stupid. But with a very muscular build!

Les Petits Matins

2010-06-21T11:15:00.008+02:00

Today is the longest day of the year: the summer solstice. In Denmark, the sun rose at 4.28 am and will set at 21.55 pm. So even if it is 11 o'clock, it's still technically in the wee hours of the morning. C'est le petit matin.

Quote of the day

2010-06-18T20:58:00.003+02:00

Update: list of firsts with Elisabeth

2010-06-07T18:09:00.003+02:00

1) first salsa class *this one was about one year ago and the beginning of a beautiful friendship*
2) first Norwegian dishes: Norwegian sun cake, Norwegian fish caserole, Norwegian rum cake.
3) first sandbox built *or helped build*
4) first shopping spree in Bilka
5) first trip to Legoland
6) first viewing of "The Godfather", "The Italian Job", "I, Robot", "Footloose"
7) first time fixing a car's flat tire
8) first time steering the car from the passenger seat
9) first Snapple - cuddling kiwi&strawberry: "in the summer, the walnuts get a tan"
10) first taste of homemade tortillas with the works: extra cheese on top, guacamole and salsa
11) first homemade smoothie
12) first taste of chilli con pollo and homemade lasagne
13) first stroll around downtown Randers
14) first time stealing someone else's shopping cart and loading groceries on the conveyor at the cash register... oops!
15) first time having to put the groceries back in the cart and find the exact same spot where I took it from, hoping no one noticed... double oops!
16) first taste of the world's best cauliflower soup

Take out your f***ing trash!

2010-05-30T10:44:00.005+02:00

I miss the days when Milos was living next door. It was all nice and quiet. And clean. But he moved out and my new neighbours might sometimes be nice and quiet, but one thing they're definitely not, and that's clean!

3 days ago they had a barbecue inside the glasshouse (which is forbidden). Their one-time grills are lying in the middle of the glasshouse to this day. Yesterday evening they were grilling again. Inside the glasshouse, of course! Even though I really like the smell of a barbecue, there's something completely wrong with my room smelling like that when I haven't been barbecuing.

And now here comes the worst part! I can live with the grilling and the one-time grills laying around but I can't live with this:

It has been like this for almost 3 days now. I really don't like having their trash at my doorstep and seing the possible remnants of their getting high (a.k.a. that watermelon & cucumber pipe) every time I go out the door. Oh, well... At least they were decent enough to put the bags on their side of the blue pole!

List of firsts with Elisabeth

2010-05-24T13:37:00.015+02:00

Almost every time I get together with Elisabeth, I do something I have never done before. So I decided to start a list of those things, because it's getting harder and harder to keep track... Looking forward to expanding it!

1) first salsa class *this one was about one year ago and the beginning of a beautiful friendship*
2) first Norwegian dishes: Norwegian sun cake, Norwegian fish caserole, Norwegian rum cake.
3) first sandbox built *or helped build*
4) first shopping spree in Bilka
5) first trip to Legoland
6) first viewing of "The Godfather", "The Italian Job", "I, Robot"
7) first time fixing a car's flat tire
8) first time steering the car from the passenger seat
9) first Snapple - cuddling kiwi&strawberry: "in the summer, the walnuts get a tan"
10) first taste of homemade tortillas with the works: extra cheese on top, guacamole and salsa
11) first homemade smoothie
12) first taste of chilli con pollo and homemade lasagne
13) first stroll around downtown Randers
14) first time stealing someone else's shopping cart and loading groceries on the conveyor at the cash register... oops!
15) first time having to put the groceries back in the cart and find the exact same spot where I took it from, hoping no one noticed... double oops!

Post-storm Brabrand

2010-05-22T10:24:00.000+02:00

If only I had my camera...

Romanian exports

2010-05-20T12:21:00.005+02:00

Romania is well known for exporting Dacia-Renault cars, gypsies and... Novatini chocolate! However. these particular ones - found in a fifth rate Arab kiosk in good'ol Brabrand - might have been smuggled into Denmark, not exported... I bought one, nonetheless!

Sparkling conversation

2010-05-18T00:15:00.005+02:00

I was sitting down on Åboulevarden by the canal having a chat with Roxana. We were enjoying warm cocoa and doughnuts near Mølleparken, in a place usually filled with teenagers drinking and acting cool. Suddenly, a bum/drunk approached us. He was carrying a bongo drum of some sort on his sholder. He mumbled something in Danish which I couldn't make out. So I said we don't speak Danish. He continued in English: "Do you know what's wrong with the group over there? *and pointed towards some of the teenagers*
Us: No...
Bum: They smoke too much hash. And you never know what they put in their cigarettes. I asked them for a cigarette and now I am stoned.
Us: Oh... *at this point he couldn't keep his balance and crashed beside us*
Roxana: Ok... Well then you sit right there and we'll move somewhere else... *we stand up and take a few steps away*
Bum: Don't go! I don't have to hit you!
Me: I know you don't HAVE to hit us!
Bum: Well, if you want to, I can hit you a little!
Us: ...
Bum: I can hit you a little bit with my drum!
This is where we slowly started to seriously move away while the bum found someone else to talk to... And possibly hit a little bit with his drum...

It was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big!

2010-05-15T21:11:00.002+02:00

I went fishing in Harlev today. Naturally, two elements of nature (the most Danish ones) a.k.a. the rain and the wind conspired against us! It poured all the time, but we stuck it out *thank God for those marvellous iventions called gummy boots and rainclothes - they make heavy rain and 13 degrees seem bearable!*. So, in the end, human perseverance prevailed! And we caught 2 fish. I caught one of them! *hehe, am I a lucky tart or am I not?* And it was thiiiiiiiiiis big *here's when you picture me streching my arms out to show how big the fish was, a gesture so well known to all fishermen*. After fulfilling my duty to the rest of the pack by providing food *if we were around the year -2010 I would probably have been one of the very popular people in the pack*, we proceeded to barbecuing and eating the beasts. Yummmmm!

Guessing game

2010-05-10T09:47:00.002+02:00

Hit play.

Do you hear:
a) a whining dog on a busy street
b) a broken vacuum cleaner
c) a spoiled child trying to annoy the parents with high-pitched screams
d) a dentist's drill
e) something else *what?*

Mejlgade for Mangfoldighed 2010

2010-05-09T10:48:00.007+02:00

I'll do this one in Romanian, folks, for a greater impact...

E un street festival in Aarhus care se cheama Mejlgade for Mangfoldighed. Mejlgade pentru toata lumea. Mejlgade e numele strazii. A fost creat ca raspuns impotriva unor atacuri facute de skinheads pe strada respectiva. Obisnuiau sa pradeze cafenele si barurile de pe-acolo. Se pare ca de cand cu festivalul, s-au oprit....

In fine, aseara am fost si eu la marea demonstratie hipioata "make love not war" de pe Mejlgade. Erau 3 scene si multe amplificatoare. Iar la una din ele s-a mixat... *hit play*

Numai ca nu era in romana, era in sarba *nu pot sti sigur, dar asa mi s-a spus*. Ritmul era cel romanesc, totusi. Se pare ca intr-adevar exista o versiune in sarba. Pe youtube zice ca a aparut dupa versiunea romaneasca. Deci, inca un exemplu de propagare a lucrurilor romanesti ne-demne de a fi propagate!

Versiunea sarbeasca:

IT-challenged

2010-04-21T11:10:00.003+02:00

I am amazed at how, whenever there is some project or task at hand, it somehow is more difficult for me to accomplish than for the others. And it's not because I'm stupid (although maybe some of you might disagree). It's because of my computer. I admit that I am incredibly IT-challenged, but why is there ALWAYS something wrong with my computer when I need it to be working properly? If there is a computer-god up there, I must have done something to piss him off, either in this or one of my previous lives. But what did I do to incur his wrath? And how can I repent? Because I doubt praying will do the trick...

It was the same with my summer school VentureSim software. Then, like today, I found myself unable to use office. And here I stand *or sit, since I'm in front of the computer*, pondering what I can do. I am currently downloading my third version of office. Maybe third time's the charm. Maybe not.

Danish brainwash

2010-03-11T09:54:00.010+01:00

This is a song from 1978 by a band called "Shu-bi-dua" (hippie, isn't it?) about all the great things in Denmark. It was in my Danish language coursebook. Frankly, I'm starting to believe that the language school is a place where they're trying to brainwash foreigners and make them believe that Denmark IS THE BEST place to be! Danish and English lyrics are below.

Danmark
-På dansk-

Se solen stiger op over bilkirkegården
og malkepigen pumper sin ged
mens præstens kone står på hænder for sin bror
og kløvermarken står i flor.
Storken er en dejlig flyver
koen har et dejligt yver,
Danmark er et dejligt land
Kornet vokser vildt på engen
bonden får sin mad på sengen
dansken er en dejlig mand.

Der findes andre men'sker end dem der er danske
de bor i huler og slås hele dagen
Det har vi li' godt aldrig nogensinde gjort.
De varme lande er noget lort!
Storken er en dejlig flyver
den der si'r andet lyver.
Danmark er et dejligt sted at være,
der er nemlig atmosfære
Danmark er et yndigt land.
Storken er en dejlig flyver
den der si'r andet lyver.
Danmark er et dejligt sted at være,
der er nemlig atmosfære
Danmark er et yndigt land.

Denmark
-In English-

See the sun rise over the car cemetery
and the milk girl milking her goat
while the priest's wife stands on her hands for her brother
and the clover field is in bloom.
The stork is a beautiful pilot,
the cow has a beautiful udder,
Denmark is a beautiful country.
The corn grows wild in the field,
the farmer has his meal in the bed,
the Dane is a beautiful man.

You can find other people than the ones that are Danish
They live in caves and fight all day
We have never ever done that.
The warm countries are something crap!
The stork is a beautiful pilot,
those who say otherwise are lying.
Denmark is a great place to be,
there is, you see, atmosphere,
Denmark is a lovely country.
The stork is a beautiful pilot,
those who say otherwise are lying.
Denmark is a great place to be,
there is, you see, atmosphere,
Denmark is a lovely country.

Thesis, thesis, thesis

2010-02-27T19:12:00.002+01:00

Yes, I'm still looking for a thesis topic. And yes, it will be something majestic, incredibly interesting and captivating. That's what I aim for right now, but it might very well turn out to be a bit outside of my grasp...

The hunt hasn't been extremely thrilling so far and if it weren't for the occasional "surprise topic", it would be all too dull. Since I'm a giving person at heart, I'll share some of these surprise topics with you all. They're either former theseses written at ASB or published papers written by *CAUGH!* scholars. The material has considerably broadened my view regadring possible topics.

"The economy of the Roman Empire in the first two centuries A.D.: en examination of market capitalism in the Roman economy" is a thesis written in 2007 about events that happened 1807 - 2007 years ago. Very up to date! I was a bit disappointed to see that the bibliography isn't pre-A.D...

"A Bayesian Analysis of Lunar Effects on Stock Returns" - a paper published in the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (Hyderabad) *that might explain some things...*. An excerpt of its abstract: "Biological, psychological and medical evidence widely suggests that the lunar phases may affect human behavior and mood. This suggestion motivates this study of the relationship between lunar phases and stock returns." If I were in my literature class, I would say it's peppered with romantic motifs: the moon and moodiness. How very Baudelaire-like.

Something new: poppy seeds

2010-02-18T10:44:00.002+01:00

I promised myself that that this year I would try to do something new every once in a while to keep things from getting too boring around here. I figure once a month is pretty realistic, otherwise I would run out of new things too soon.

This time, Len helped me keep my promise: she served a delicious Slovak cake after dinner. The key ingredient: poppy seeds smuggled into Denmark from somewhere in Eastern Europe (poppy seeds are apparently illegal in Denmark... another ironic thing about this country: gay marriages are legal but poppy seeds are not!). As a result, I had some very heroic dreams where I was saving people. Maybe I was saving Len and the other poppy seeds consumers from being picked up by the police...

Lo and behold!

2010-02-03T10:33:00.003+01:00

Street view in Aarhus!

If you want to see where I live, go to http://maps.google.com/, search for "karensvej 38, brabrand, denmark", click on the pink bubble marked "A" and then on "street view/vizualizare stradala". My building is the grey and blue one with the garage doors on the ground floor. Click on arrows to navigate around/look up or to the sides.

If you want to see where I study, search for "ditten fast food" and do the same. Look acrross the street from the small fast food and zoom in to see white writing on a brick wall: "handelshojskolen". That's the one! Behind the sign there's one of our buildings. You can go around on Vestre Ringgade and Viborgvej to see more *although not much*.

If you want to see the Cathedral, search for "domkirke aarhus".

Wheeee!!!!

P.S. For other requests of sights in Aarhus, post comments. Maybe this will get some of you to visit.

Long time no see. Or the story of a fine.

2010-02-01T22:34:00.006+01:00

Monday morning, one week ago. It had taken 24 hours from Pitesti to Aarhus (bad train connection -> night in the airport). I got in the apartment, left my luggage in the middle of the room and checked the mail. Opened one of the envelopes. It was a reminder. I had to pay a 600 dkk fine. Apparently, on 7 November 2008 I got caught on a bus with no bus ticket and was fined. Strange. I began contemplating the possibility of me having Alzheimer's. I remembered what I had eaten for breakfast before leaving to Aarhus, and the day before, and the day before that. Clearly, I didn't have Alzheimer's. But what I definitely had was a fine and very likely a big minus in my bank account as a result of that...

I began to play detective. With the help of Poul (my trusty sidekick on this case), who called the office that sent the reminder, I found out that there was a record of the signature of the person that was caught on the bus. This should do it...

The next morning, I biked 7 km in the ice-cold wind wind to the office in question. Went in and a nice lady greeted me. I thought to myself: "this shouldn't be too difficult". I explained everything and she asked me to write my name, address and signature on a piece of paper. I did so, and she compared my hand-writing to the one on the fine, since the person had written the address herself and had signed. The controller had only scribbled her name. The following conversation took place:
Old Lady: "I think it's you who got the fine. It's the same writing. You have to pay the fine." and she showed me the fine to see for myself that it was the same.
Me: "But the writing is not the same, and the signature isn't either."
Old lady: "I think it's you"
Me: "Even if the name is different? It's issued under a different name, not mine." And I showed her my ID.
Old lady: "But the writing is the same. I think it's you. You have to pay."
Me: ...
Old lady: "She ID'd herself with a Romanian ID."
Me: Well, that has a photo on it. *I showed her my ID*
Old lady: Yes, I can see it's you in the picture...
Me: So it couldn't have been me on the bus! The controller checked the name and the photo matched the person on the bus. How could it have been me?
Old lady: I don't know, but I think it's you.
I was beginning to think there was no way out.
Me: So the controller wrote her name, right? He read the name from the ID and wrote it on the fine. If it were me on the bus and I would have shown my ID, he would have written my name, right?
Old lady: Yes, you are right.
At this point, she went to a colleague and asked if the hand-writings matched. It only took a second for the colleague to see the difference and she said: "No."
Old lady: "There was a mistake. It's not you."

T minus 6h...

2009-12-18T09:10:00.003+01:00

... where T=the time I have the last exam in my student life *seems like that will soon be over and done with*. It's an oral exam so it's going to involve awkward pauses and me being caught off-guard by some idiotic *and yet so simple* question that I haven't thought about. *Although I have to confess that I haven't thought about that many, so there's plenty of leeway there!* At least it'll be over in about 17 minutes. That's faster than you can say "this is the last school-related exam I will ever sit for"... For about a couple of thousand times.

P.S. The demise of the "ASB" tag to my posts has begun!

White morning

2009-12-16T09:56:00.004+01:00

More photos here: 16 dec. 09 - snow in aarhus

wipeout!

2009-12-15T11:01:00.000+01:00

R&L B&B

2009-12-15T08:50:00.000+01:00

We are officially running a bed&breakfast over here. It's a fact of life: people don't hang around for a very long time in Denmark. Me and Rux have probably set a record. But it's hard to cut the ties with the country, so people come back once in a while *mainly because of administrative stuff like an exam here and there*. The few that do, bunk at our place. It seems we are an island of stability in this stormy sea. And people are glad we are.

Filip, our Czech colleague has been here since last Friday, staying for a week.
Corina is bunking for 2 nights *by the way, thanks for donating all the stuff, Corina, we won't charge you for the stay *wink wink**
Marcel will be here for a few days in January.

Last evening me and Rux were calculating what our maximum capacity would be. We can house 6 at a time (well, including us two). So right now, we're 66% full. But we still have vacancies! And YOU are more than welcome in our Glasshouse B&B.

Aaaaah, Romania!

2009-12-14T21:39:00.000+01:00

Gotta miss those Romanian potholes and their strategic placement. My mum broke her right arm today because of one. So everyone, be on the lookout!

Winter

2009-12-13T15:27:00.000+01:00

It's officially winter. In Denmark, it snowed for about 10 minutes yesterday evening. In Romania, the webcam overlooking the Transfagarasan is frozen.

48 hour exam

2009-12-09T09:17:00.001+01:00

This might not be accustomed in Romania, but it is here: 2 whole days to work on an exam... They say students don't get much sleep...

I'll be documenting these 48 hours here. My grandchildren will be happy to be able to read about what exams were like 50 years before...

09:00 - subjects get uploaded
09:05 - the syllabus articles we have are useless... i can only use one, and I have to look for more on the internet... wheeee... the quest has begun!
09:06 - it's snowing in Straja - click here for webcam(let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, so that we can ski for new year's!!!!)
11:10 - I'm making colourful graphs and hoping that they'll print my paper in colour...
11:59 - this is what i project i will be like at the end of the exam

12:00 - lunch & seinfeld *is this boring or what???*
12:05 - correction: lunch & facebook
12:15 - back to work
15:05 - 5 pages down! max 10 more to go!
16:17 - the crazies with the scooters started their show. I have some neighbours that love to take out their scooters for a drive AROUND THE BUILDING! I fail to see the fun in that, but they seem to be having a blast right now. And as if the noise from the scooters isn't enough they have to scream and shout, too!
17:24 - they are still at it...
18:18 - another distraction: fireworks!
19:30 - dinner & seinfeld *at long last, seinfeld*
19:45 - boy, I never would have thought I'd be watching seinfeld during an exam! the thrill, the joy, the excitement!
20:00 - seinfeld wore me out. off to take a quick nap.
21:00 - back in business!
23:00 - took 5 minutes coughing break *I wish that cough syrup would kick in already!*
23:35 - am puzzled. What does my teacher mean when she asks "What is the purpose of the solution?" Could the answer be as simple as "to solve the problem"? Yup, that has to be it!!! Eureka!
00:25 - decided to go to bed. keep feeling like an inmate that has nothing better to do than make diary naotes about how many times the faucet drips each minute and what supper consisted of. Anyway, see you all tomorrow! Bright and early!

Day 2

10:00 - bright and early my arse! this cough is killing me... barely got any sleep. anyway, weather forecast says it's going to snow in the next 5 days in Aarhus. That would be nice! And now, back to my exam. Current status: 10 pages down, 5 more to go!
15:00 - damn it! couldn't find a decent article about a project management framework. I thought this exam was supposed to be an entrepreneurship exam, not a project management one! we got screwed on this one! but i did find an article about how you can make a team more productive if you employ some techniques that a Cambridge coach used for his team in the famous Cambridge - Oxford boat race! Am saving it for after the exam...
17:25 - making mamaliga. exam status: 2 more pages to go *jeez, it's going slower and slower* good thing I have 15 hours left! and I plan to spend them wisely!
18:00 - seinfeld x 2
20:04 - just a few conclusions and I'm done
20:36 - contemplating what I would have done differently about our group project *yes, still related to the exam...* status: one last darned paragraph and that's that!
20: 49 - someone should make some reseach on the esponential decay of productivity during 48 hour exams.... yessss, good stuff! reseach material right here!
21:01 - done.
21:02 - now I have to read 15 pages of analysis *yawn*
22:00 - minor changes made and exam uploaded! double done!

Must study....

2009-12-07T21:52:00.000+01:00

Santa Claus is coming to town

2009-12-07T18:08:00.000+01:00

Well, this happenned a bit over a week ago, but I didn't quite have the time to write about it.

Every year there's a parade in honour of Santa. This year it was on the 29 of November. And no, that's not early! People start decorating for Christmas sometime in October! Anyway, the parade starts down in the harbour because Santa is coming from Greenland by boat (duuh! you didn't know Santa is from Greenland? of course! he's Danish!). Anyway, he gets off the boat and into.... a white Cadillac! What? Why? Well, probably because there is almost no snow in Denamrk and a sleigh waiting for him at the harbour would stay at the harbour. And why a Cadillac? I guess since there is no car manufacturer in Denmark, Santa was free to choose! And what car would fit best? If it were Germany, it would be a VW, if it were Romania it would be a Dacia, but in Denmark the obvious choice is: a Cadillac (Saabs and Volvos are just sooo lame!!!). The Caddie is followed by a fireman truck filled with kids. All the cotton used for the beard is considered a fire menace, so it's best to have some professional firemen standing by. All the kids that ride in the truck are responsible for puttin out the fire because the only grown-up in the truck has to do the driving... Great thinking! Next up there are the boys' brass band and the girls' brass band. They're not allowed to mix. Otherwise they'd be looking at each other instead of the notes. After the brass bands there's a hippie van painted in all the wild colours and a bunch of hippies were handing out fliers for some event (they didn't give me a flyer, bastard hippies!). The elves are a bit cruel, since they keep throwing candy at people. I think they mean well, but the cold makes those caramels so hard, that the elves may take out someone's eye if they're not careful! And last, but not least, there's another Santa at the end of the parade in case people missed the main one. Anyway, people seem to like it just the way it is...

Innocent

2009-11-29T13:36:00.000+01:00

We interrupt this programme...

2009-11-18T21:10:00.000+01:00

...for a very important announcement. We have received some shocking photos. In Aarhus, Denmark, a powerful storm blew away half of the roof of a building. The photos were taken by an eye-witness, a Romanian student. As we speak, the Danish Home Guard is clearing the debris off the street and the cars parked in front of the building. We’ll keep you posted about the unfolding of events. Please stay tuned for more information.

P.S. The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet is also covering the news. Read more about it here (in Danish).

Finance Nerds

2009-11-17T20:10:00.000+01:00

Today we were working on the Global Management Challenge decisions (GMC is a competition where you have to manage a virtual production company). We're a team of 5, all Romanians (but participating for Denmark), and all studying Finance and International Business.

Anyway, today we "gave birth to" Mr. Currency. He's our imaginary frind who whispers in our ear what we should be doing next in terms of managing out company. He watches over us from the whiteboard. If the $$$ start rolling in, we're going to officially register Mr. Currency as the 6th member of our team. *it's all about the money, it's all about the dum-dum-du-dum-dum*

P.S. We're going to miss Cristina's jokes... But good luck with the thesis!

More, more, more

2009-11-16T23:25:00.000+01:00

Yes, yes, there's not much going on in these days: school, projects, reading, groupwork, Danish, groupwork, and last but not least, groupwork.

So I'll tell you more about Stockholm.

We took the nightbus from Copenhagen. It was a cold and starry night, and the wind brought the smell of winter from the North. The full moon gazed from the sky.... Oh wait, that's not what I wanted to tell you about. Sooooo ,the nightbus, yes, that's what I was talking about... It's the best sollution if you want to save time: travel by night, do sightseeing by day. But you can NEVER get any sleep on those darned things. The whole way, the people on the seats in front and behind me insisted on keeping the lights on so that they could read (but they were talking, not reading, anyway). WE got delayed at the customs because of some guy on the bus that had some drugs on him. And then there was the loooong dinner that the couple in the front was having. They were equipped with porcelain plates and forks and knives and they were cutting, and screeching and scratching with their forks and knives for soooo loooong! And then they dropped a plate which was going round and round like a coin that won't lay flat! Since I couldn't get any shut eye, I read some print-outs with info on the sights in Stockholm like the respectable professional tourist that I am.

I finally managed to fall asleep about an hour and a half before arrival to Stockholm. Julie woke me up hastily and told me we need to get off quickly. I put on my jacket, grabbed my backpack and then got off the bus, which took off immediately afterwards. While I was fastening the buttons to my jacket, still half asleep (not even the cold could wake me up that fast) I realised I had left all the print-outs in the pocket on the back of the seat in front. Julie and I had our return tickets printed out and the directions to get to where we were staying, and all the info about the sights. I was no longer feeling like a respectable professional tourist... I started contemplating possible sollutions. Ask Rux to check my e-mail and send some info on sms, look for an internet cafe (although I think these are extinct...) etc. Luckily, a few seconds afterwards, Julie saw the bus going the other way (apparently there's only one way out of that huge bus-station. So she almost jumped in front of it to make the driver stop, which he did. Soooo, we got all our stuff back and everything was fine again.

What I learned from this bus trip? To always bring an eye-mask and ear plugs so that I can get some sleep and never to take out anything important out of the backpack and leave it out.

P.S. The Swedes eat meatballs with potatoes and redcurrant jam.

All towers: off limits

2009-11-15T15:49:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was Stockholm time! Julie and I left good ol' Aarhus on Thursday afternoon and were back on Monday afternoon. (I told you I'd get to Stockholm no matter what).

Everything went according to plan, met my old friend Haret from way back (primary school actually). Only one thing missing: Julie and me couldn't really see an aireal view of the city because we didn't have acces to ANY of the towers.

The City Hall tower - closed down because of restaurations
Riddarhuset Tower - only open in the tourist season
Katharina Tower - only open at odd times during the day so we couldn't make it
The TV tower was supposed to be open BUT in the first evening it was reserved for a private party and in the second evening it was completely closed down, no lights anywhere, locks and chains were on the gate and no one was in sight (even though we were assured that it would be OPEN).

Well, my advice in case you're thinking of going to Stockholm is to book a helicopter if you want a view of the city!

Photos here.

I stole a fork

2009-11-13T12:42:00.001+01:00

I was just laughing with Rux yesterday about the fact that now we bring lunchboxes to school and how we never thought we would since in Romania, it's only the not-so-cool students that bring food from home.

Well sometimes I bring salad. And a fork. But yesterday I forgot my fork home and I went to the canteen to get one. I was meaning to take it back, but after I had finished my salad, I just put the fork in my lunchbox and forgot all about it until I found it when I got home. So now I have an ASB-fork in my cutlery drawer. I'm a fork stealer.

Wonder how it's going to look when I have to take it back. I go into the canteen, take my backpack off, start looking through it for my lunchbox and then take out the nice and clean fork and put it with all the other forks. Then I put my luchbox back in the backpack and walk out. Or maybe I can order something and not take any fork from the fork-drawer and just take out an identical fork from my backpack, hoping no one else would notice. Or maybe I'll just keep the fork and struggle with a guilty conscience. I'll be a fork-stealer for the rest of my life.

New Year's 2009 - 2010

2009-10-27T22:16:00.000+01:00

If you want to reach me on New Year's, please dial 0040 [that's Romania's country code] followed by m-o-u-n-t-a-i-n-t-o-p!

Sneak preview:

In times like these...

2009-10-21T21:14:00.000+02:00

... I realise that I miss having my Firefox in English... *this is only going to be funny if you speak Romanian*

Eroare:

??? Mozilla problem report... Adica...

American Association of...

2009-10-19T13:20:00.000+02:00

Medical associations in the US *these actually exist!!!*

American Association for Therapeutic Humor – i’d join the black humor group. They say it prevents heart conditions because of stress relief: thr patient can always tell his/her close ones the ugly truth and they’d be laughing and thinking it’s just a black-humor-type-of-joke.
American Dance Therapy Association – i’d go for the chicken dance, that's got to be therapeutic!
American Pain Society – i’ll pass if pain is inflicted on me, but i’ll join if i can inflict pain on others
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved – does this iclude those underserved in restaurants? Those that get to wait too long before their ordr is taken, before their meal is brought? Those that find weird things in their soup? If so, I’m in!
The American Society of Plant Physiology – Definitely in, I will finally be able to tell where my plants’ mouth is and give them water in a more efficient manner. Maybe they’ll survive more. Who knowm, I might have been injecting water into their lungs all this time without knowing...

Fun facts - recycling

2009-10-19T13:15:00.000+02:00

Fun fact #1
A ton of cell phones can yield as much as 280 grams of gold. *ka-ching - business idea! ->>> $$$$*

Fun fact #2
Ironically, Athens does have what is believed to be Europe's largest recycling plant, built next to a huge landfill four years ago. But the plant - estimated to have cost at least 75m euros (£50m) - has stood idle. The reason? It was badly damaged by a mountain of rubbish which collapsed on top of it.

Fun fact #3
Nickel is foreign to our planet, supplied by meteorites. Large deposits of nickel are mined near Ontario, Canada where evidence of a large meteorite impact occurred. American nickels (5 cent coins) contain 25% nickel, but recycling them is illegal.

Written yesterday evening because I needed to vent

2009-10-19T12:53:00.000+02:00

There is one thing that is sacred for any Dane, and disrespecting it would bring forth the eternal wrath of all-powerful forces. That one thing is…. Spare time! (ha, you thought it had something to do with the Church?! As a matter of fact, Denmark is the country with one of the highest rates of atheism. Danes only go to church for 45 minutes a year, for the Christmas eve sermon – which they consider very long!!!) Back to spare time… There is nothing in the world that could disrupt Danes in their spare time. They get off at 4 and are unreachable until the next day at 8 a.m, regardless of the urgency of the matter. The building might be crumbling and all the important documents or research or whatever might be burning amidst the fire of doom… If it’s 10 past 4, they just couldn’t care less. And this applies to people of all types and occupations, from factory workers to consultants. And there are certain situations when this trait of theirs is like a thorn in my backside… Most importantly, when it comes to my internet connection. Some of you might remember the episode when I was biking through a thunderstorm in order to get to a friend’s dorm because my internet connection went out like a candle in the wind (as Elton John might put it) with the first sign of thunder. And no one fixed the connection until the next morning because the damage occurred outside working hours and the IT guy was happily having dinner and being unreachable. And now it’s happened again. I have had no internet connection the WHOLE weekend, meaning BOTH days, as in Saturday AND Sunday. This is unimaginable for a student who simply has to get the daily dose of internet-socialising or on-line relaxation (thank God I had a couple of movies on my drive that I could watch while having dinner or I would have gone bezerk). And I am willing to bet anything that first thing tomorrow morning, they’re going to fix the connection, because it’s during working hours. Gotta love that 8-to-4!

Traveling plans gone bust

2009-09-25T12:25:00.000+02:00

I kind of got the traveling bug lately and I had some big plans for the next few months. Unfortunately it all went bust within a few days...

- Skagen for this weekend - can't because I have to work;
- Legoland trip with the buddy program from school next weekend - can't because there are no more seats available;
- Berlin for end of October - can't because it takes too long to hitch-hike there and I realised that I haven't got that long a weekend (plus - there's no one to hitch-hike with);
- Copenhagen for the end of October (this one was instead of Berlin) - not a possibility now since I got an extra bill for the heating that we used the past year and I have to pay over 300 euro wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

There is only one thing left on the list right now: Stockholm for the beginning of November. And I don't care what happens, I will be going!

Lots and lots of photos

2009-09-20T12:28:00.000+02:00

... from Copenhagen, when Horia and Mada were here.

... from Aarhus, when Mada and Horia were here.

... from Kaloe Slot, when we biked and biked and biked.

... from Ebeltoft, when we watched the sunset.

every day is a winding road

Hitch-hiking Competition to Odense

The BEST Knock Knock Joke I Ever Heard

Cool Jokes

Hates of Today

Nu e.

Goodbye, Romania!

The Remains of the Week

Ramasite

They Say IT All

This one's in Romanian, folks!

Tag, I'm It! *The Versatile Blogger Award*

Like the Chorus Says

Still Hearing Wedding Bells 2 Months and 10 Days Later!

23 August

Manifesto

Thanks, Daniel!

Feast Your Eyes on...

Cakes of Summer

Romaniaaaaaa!

Summer Travels

2 month blogging break :(

Sunny Sunday Afternoon Pastime

Update!

Motivation ?!

Guess Who Has a Column!

Iron&Wine

Good Night!

A Walk in the Park

Update 3: List of Firsts with Elisabeth

The Two of Them

Photo Project FTW... NOT!

My Good Deed for This Year or Daneza Fara Profesor

Happy Postcrossing!

Library Glances

How to Sleep Less and Have More Energy

New Year's Resolution: More Blogging

Christmas 2010 Highlights

Romanian Music Rocks

Lavinia ♥ Coincidences

"Yes, Yes, I Know I Have Good Friends!" or "Epilogue to My Birthday"

Song of the Day

Mon cafard!?!?!

Trippin' Billies

Self - Motivation Techniques

Update 2: List of Firsts with Elisabeth

Bugs

Florence, oh, Florence!

I don't like people who ...

Berlin

Dream (26 Sept 2010)

The Night There Was a Full Moon

Free Falling

Playing detective

Salam e un nume popular

They Think They Can Buy Me With Candy

Things I Broke in the Fruit Department at Dansk Supermarked

Sillogism

Maze land

Again about my neighbours

For the Gilmore Girls Fans

WoRk wOrK WoRk

Les Petits Matins

Quote of the day

Update: list of firsts with Elisabeth

Take out your f***ing trash!

List of firsts with Elisabeth

Post-storm Brabrand

Romanian exports

Sparkling conversation

It was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big!

Guessing game

Mejlgade for Mangfoldighed 2010

IT-challenged

Danish brainwash

Thesis, thesis, thesis

Something new: poppy seeds

Lo and behold!

Long time no see. Or the story of a fine.

T minus 6h...

Tag, I'm It! The Versatile Blogger Award