Truly myself

Weekend in the mountains

2006-03-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

We went hiking on Saturday, it was a very eventful weekend - we got caught in a snow blizzard, with winds that nearly blew us off our feet, escaped an avalanche and had to call the mountain rescue team to escort us to a cabin that was almost burried in snow after the storm. Here to the left you can see us before we reached the top of the mountain where the storm started. Now we look the same, all happy and wiser after a quite frightening experience. I think I'll wait till spring settles for good to go back hiking :) Be blessed and take care!

"I wish I knew how to quit you"

2006-02-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

I watched "Brokeback Mountain" on Saturday and allow me to say, I loved it. Even though it started off a bit slowly and did not pace up much throughout the story, in the end it gave me the feeling that it was slow for a reason. Life must be pretty damn slow and frustrating when you're living what society makes you live and you must be who this society wants you to be... All I knew about the movie before I saw it was that it was, and I quote some of my friends here, "a movie about two gay cowboys". Well, I think this movie is about much more than just a gay love story, it's a realistic and sad love story about the guts it takes to accept one's feelings and speak them out loud. I'd advise anyone to take some time, leave prejudices aside, watch this movie with an open mind and think about the story, not about the gay love story, because "love is a force of nature" and nature is above us all.

Lists of 4

2006-02-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Andrei and here are my shortlists of four:

4 jobs I've had:
* marketing analyst for a marketing research company
* aerobics trainer at a gym in Bucharest and now on my own, but non-profit :)
* waitress and hostess in various restaurants in the US
* sales representative for a cosmetics company

4 movies I like:
* The Godfather
* 21 Grams
* La Vita e Bella
* Shawshank Redemption

4 TV series I enjoy - well, this was the toughest one, since I only watch TV like once every 2 - 3 months or even less often than that, when I visit my parents, but there are some things I remember I like:
* World's Funniest Animals
* Crime Night
* FBI Files
* almost anything National Geographic broadcasts

4 books I like:
* Gabriel Garcia Marquez - 100 Years of Solitude

* Mario Puzo - The Godfather

* Paulo Coelho - The Alchimist

* Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

4 meals:
* salade de boeuf (the Romanian recipe)
* pasta carbonara
* stuffed calamari (the Greek recipe - stuffed with feta cheese, absolutely fabulous)
* Ben & Jerry's icecream :p

4 places I would rather be right now:
* the Skiathos island
* Tahiti
* New York
* almost anywhere in Germany

last 4 destinations I've been to:
* Vienna
* lots of places where I could dive, swim, sunbathe, ride a bike and eat well (Greece, Spain, Cote d'Azur, Ocean City, etc - hopefully more to add to this list soon)
* Strasbourg
* Basel
* Paris

4 web pages:
* google.com sites
* about.com sites
* www.webster.com
* www.zf.ro

4 places I've lived in:
* Onesti
* Bucharest
* Ocean City (just 4 months, but felt like a lifetime worth of experience)
* Augsburg (2 months, same as above)

And instead of the 4 tagged bloggers, here are four people I would rather not live without: my mom & dad, Bogdan (my brother) and Nico. Thanks Andrei for the mind and soul searching you put me through :)

I opened my own gym this week!!!

2006-02-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

I opened my gym on Monday, but I waited till the end of the week to tell you all about it, just to make sure I have what to say ;) I teach aerobics classes there almost every evening from Monday to Friday and due to unexpected popularity, on weekends too :) It is right in the basement of the building where I work, and all my colleagues joined it and loved it. I must say that although I have taught aerobics before in a professional gym, I never felt quite as excited as I have this time around. At least 2 weekes before the opening, I revised the program, studied the music tracks I decided to play, studied moves to go on each music track, and so on. So Monday found me a little nervous, wishing it all went perfectly. And fortunately, it did :) I had 3 classes so far, all went very well, and I have requests to hold classes this Saturday, too. I finally have the chance to do what I like most, and I hope it lasts. So anyone interested, step by and check it out, I have programs that are suited for any tastes and fitness levels, music that will get you moving and wishing for more, and of course, lots of fun :)

picture

2006-01-20T02:50:00.000-08:00

Starbucks is coming to Romania

2006-01-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

Announced for the second half of 2006, the entrance of Starbucks on the Romanian market, through the Greek company Marinopoulos, will delight the Romanian consumer, considered to be increasingly willing to pay premium for a coffee and the chance to chat in a relaxing atmosphere.

Being a friend means mastering the art of timing

2006-01-17T04:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go... And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

Investigating into REM sleep

2006-01-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

I woke up today feeling incredibly tired after an incredibly long sleep... Which made me to do some research on REM sleep, maybe I can find a way to set my alarm outside of REM times from now on :) REM sleep occurs several times during sleep and accounts for about 25% of total sleep. non-REM sleep is divided into 4 stages - in each stage, brain waves become progressively larger and slower, and sleep becomes deeper. After reaching stage 4, the deepest period, the pattern reverses, and sleep becomes progressively lighter until REM sleep, the most active period, occurs (the first sleep cycle looks like this: stage 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 3 - 2 - REM, each further cycle starts with a phase 2 and ends with REM). The first complete cycle typically lasts about 100 minutes, with cycles getting lengthier as sleep progresses. So, to make sure a sleep through a complete stage I should sleep about 7h15m every night (5h25m if that's too much or 9h20m if I miss the 7h15m wake-up). I hope it works, I think I'll start with the 9h20m one. I will let you know if it works :)

Phone that works with Skype

2006-01-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier last week looks extremely interesting: a Netgear phone that works with Skype. It looks like a cell phone and sounds like a cell phone, but there's one big difference: calls are free. However, the Netgear folks insist it's not a cell phone killer. At least not yet. That's because the Skype service relies on WiFi. If you move around and leave a hotspot, it won't switch to the next hotspot. You lose the signal and have to call back. Still, if you're sitting somewhere enjoying free WiFi, this is one extremely handy mobile device. This could easily cut into all those cell minutes we're racking up :)
http://tools.netgear.com/skype/

working workouts

2005-11-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

Based on the fact that you can learn a lot about someone's work style by the way they work out, increasingly more business people prefer to pursue working workouts rather than doing business over traditional working lunches. This is even used in early stages of recruitment: supposedly, if you give up easily during a workout, you are more likely to be an early quitter during a project, as opposed to someone who is able to push beyond pain. What does your workout style say about you? Mine says I always complete my tasks, no matter the amount of effort required; I also concentrate all my efforts on what I have to do (almost nothing could distract my attention while I'm working out)

"With the increased oxygen flow to the brain, it's amazing how the brain works when you're in a physically active environment". Would you like your work environment to be more physically active? I for one sure would.

http://http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/fashion/thursdaystyles/10FITNESS.html?pagewanted=1