Coincidence

I was listening to my ipod on my way to work this morning, like I usually do when I'm going to work, when something strange happened. Strange in a good way :).

The song I was listening to was Rob Pattinson's "Let Me Sign", from the "Twilight" soundtrack. My ipod was on shuffle, so the song came randomly... I was waiting for the red light to turn green so that I can cross the street, when my attention was caught by a silver Volvo that just passed in front of me. I can't bet it was the exact type as the one driven by Edward Cullen, but it looked a lot like it.

What are the odds of something like that happening? :)

Hmm...

You know how sometimes you struggle hard to accomplish something and just when you thought you made it something happens that destroys everything you’ve worked so hard on?

For the past few years I’ve tried to put my life in order, to let go of people and relations that I failed at, to stop regretting things I haven’t done or done wrong and accept that it was how they were meant to be. It took some work and a lot of perseverance and I finally thought I did it and I will be able to take a new step.

Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was this pop-up on my screen. And I saw his name. And my heart remembered and started beating like it did 6 years ago. A wave of memories and old feelings hit me. Funny, I didn’t even know they were there anymore. So a ghost from my past came back to haunt me, I would say :).

I don’t know why he looked for me, why he remembered me after such a long time, haven’t asked him yet, but it really got me confused…

Don't...

I was bored the other day and I started thinking (bad thing to do when you’re bored …) about how sometimes men are worse than women. There are some “specimens” who try too much to get you to like them that they end up making you run away. Here’s a list of things that really annoy me:

• Get upset and say I ignore you when you’re IM-ing me and I’m telling you I’m busy.
Chances are that I might really be busy, especially when I’m at work.

• Insist I should get a 5+1 sound system just because you say that’s how movies should be watched.
I’m not planning on building my own cinema. As long as the image is clear and I hear what they’re saying I’m perfectly happy.

• Treat me like I know nothing about computers.
I might be a girl, but I’m not mentally challenged!

• Keep saying “call me if you want to talk ”
…even if you have said it before and I never called.

• Call me 5 times in three hours if you see I don’t answer. That’s something girls / women do, not men.
Maybe I don’t have my phone with me, maybe I can’t talk, or maybe I’m just not in the mood to talk to you. Otherwise I would have called you back…

• Try to flirt with me even though you have a girlfriend and get upset when you see I’m ignoring you.
What part of I’M NOT INTERESTED don’t you understand?

• Say you love me on our 3rd date. You don’t. Trust me, I know better that you.
Believe it or not, it did happen with one of my boyfriends some years ago. He was 21, which translates by “young and immature”, and I was 23. Way “older” than him, :P.

• Say I’m a bad kisser.
Don’t ever say it! It might be you who don’t know how to kiss, have you thought about that? Yeah, it happened with the same guy above. After he said he loved me… See, I knew he didn’t, lol!

UPDATE

I swore I would try to post more often, but I guess I should stop swearing :)
So... related to my previous post, no vacation plans for me anymore. The situation with the company I work for is not that pink at the moment, although everyone in the management acts like nothing's happening, ignoring all the rumors about the takeover and stuff, and the fact that last month they let 29 people go, for reasons of restructuring... So I decided that as long as I still have a job I should start doing some savings. And I'm starting by buying a laptop :).
Seriously, I really need to get a new computer. The one I have does not satisfy my needs anymore, and I do want some more mobility. While checking online I fell in love with a Dell Inspiron 1545 and decided I must have it. Which unfortunately won't happen until next week, when I get my paycheck...
On a different not, I completed my Twilight saga books collection, by buying the last one, Breaking Dawn, translated in Romanian. And I also bought The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion, by Marc Cotta Vaz. It was really interesting to read about how the filming went and to see pics from the set.
Um, what else did I do... Oh, I went to the seaside two week-ends in May. The first time I left right on my birthday and I listened to Bon Jovi at maximum in the car. I swear the guy that drove was my favorite person at that time, because he had the idea to listen to Bon Jovi :). No, I'm lying, everyone in my department at HQ were my favorite persons that day, because they got me Nina Ricci's Nina perfume and body milk ;)
And I think that's about it... No, wait, I went to see Terminator 4 last Sunday. And I decided to stick to my vampires movies, killer robots are not my cup of tea, no sir...

More vacation plans?

My boss told me today that he'll be taking one week of vacation and going to... Santorini... I told him I hate him with all my heart and I don't wanna see him again, and that I won't ever talk to him again... but unfortunately I had to do these things, since we're working together. Of course he knew I was only joking :). God, I wouldn't have told something like that to my boss and mean it! I must say I have a wonderful boss, much like the first two I had but a lot different than the one before him.
Oh, I'd loooooooooooooove to see Santorini again!!! I'm seriously thinking of going to Athens in autumn, but I might have to do it alone this time. I don't think there's anyone willing to come... Oh well, I think I'd manage on my own ;)

Vacanze Romane

I don't think my adventure compares to that of Audrey Hepburn, but it was still an adventure. I wrote down all the places I saw every day, in order not to forget anything, so just let me get my journal and start the "story":...

Day 1 - Babel

Our plane took off at 06:10 and landed in Rome at 07:05 (mind you, Rome is one hour behind Bucharest, so even thought the flight took two hours, we gained one). We took the bus to the subway station Anagnina and from there we took the train 21 stations to Ottaviano - San Pietro (I know, I go deep into details sometimes, but that's me :). We were staying at a B&B called "Il Tibullo", owned by an acquaintance of mine, quite close to the Vatican. After we settled in, Ionut decided to take a nap (???) while Ana and I were anxious to go outside and discover "la citta eterna" - the eternal city. Which we did. Our first stop was Piazza San Pietro, where we took lots of photos, watched the columns from that one spot from where all four rows seem like one, admired the pigeons and did not believe we were actually in Rome... We were working on that one step at a time. After San Pietro we headed towards Sant'Angelo Castle. This castle started as emperor Hadrian's circular tomb and was fortified later by Aurelius. It was also the Pope's residence for 1000 years. From the top of it we had a wonderful view of Rome.
Our next stop was Piazza Navonna. It was full of people from all over the world, tourists, locals - some of them artist: painters, portrait drawers, caricaturists... It felt like the Babel tower! But in spite of all the crown there was an incredible silence. It felt quite... comfortable. It is one of Rome's most beautiful pedestrian squares, with fountains and surrounded by palaces, Sant'Agnese church and also very picturesque trattorias, one of which was called "La Dolce Vita". We took photos in front of the Four Rivers Fountain (Danube for Europe, Nile for Africa, Rio de la Plata for America and Ganges for Asia) and then left looking for a McDonalds - we wanted something cheap and where we didn't have to wait for our food. Time was something we didn't quite have. After our quick lunch we went in search of the Pantheon. With a good map and a great sense of orientation (of which I am quite proud), one will very easily find their way around Rome. And so we found the Pantheon, this pagan temple at it's origins, dating since 125 AD, also constructed by Hadrian. Unfortunately we could not get inside so we did not see the royal tombs and the tomb of Rafael.
Next "attraction" on our list was the famous Trevi Fountain. "Pasted" on the back of a palace, this famous landmark of Rome dates from 1732 and marks the end of the aqueduct Acqua Vergine, built by Agrippa in the 19th century BC from a miraculous spring discovered by a virgin. It is said that if you throuw 3 coins in the fountain you will return to Rome. I think I threw 4, but I would have returned to Rome anyways... We met with Ionut here and then headed to Piazza di Spagna, via Piazza Barberini where we saw the fountain of the triton. It was already dark outside and we were really tired, so we rested a bit in from of the church Trinita dei Monti, then descended the famous Spanish steps, took some photos of the Barcaccia, the fountain representing a sinking boat (I know, Rome's full of fountains :), then we took the subway and went home.

Day 2 - Past and Present

We decided to spend Saturday with a so-called time-travel. We started with the Colosseum. It so happens that this year is its 2000th anniversary. So we picked a good year to see it, I'd say :). I forgot to mention that we had purchased the Roma Pass, which for three days granted us free transportation, free entrance to the first two museums and discount for the rest of them. The Colosseum was the first one we chose to be free. I felt really small and insignificant when I entered the large arena. Again, I couldn't believe I was there, inside of this wonderful construction I had only seen in photos, following the steps of my ancestors, touching the stones that Roman hands touched 2000 years ago... It's a feeling I can't describe. After the Colosseum we kept with the history and went to see the Roman Forum and the palatine Hill, a picturesque ensemble of ruins that was once a symbol of civic pride for over 1000 years.
We left the forum in the afternoon and stepped into Piazza Venezia, in the middle of which rises "Il Vittoriano", the huge monument dedicated to king Victor Emanuel II, which you can easily see from any higher place in Rome, Just like the dome of San Pietro. Close to it was the famous Column of Traian and also the Forum of Traian, though not as impressive as the Roman Forum. We headed back to the Colosseum on Via Deu Fori Romani, but didn't go all the way. After we rested a bit we decided to change our direction towards Piazza del Quirinale. We were intending to see the Quirinale Gardens but from the Piazza we took a wrong turn and ended up at Trevi. Since it was already getting late we headed for home, slowly, on foot. We had been walking all day so we could barely feel our legs. It seemed like they were walking by themselves. We again passed by the Pantheon, Piazza Navonna, Sant'Angelo Castle and Piazza San Pietro. The last one was empty this time and thus quiet. We stopped for a while to admire the church and the majestic columns and the water falling from the fountain, which in the artificial light seemed like grains of gold.

Day 3 - Dialogue with the Saints

On the last Saturday of every month the entrance to the Vatican Museum is free. Unfortunately a lot of people come to the Vatican on Sunday and we also got up a bit late, so the queue would have been a long one. We decided to keep on the religious side and visit two important churches of Rome: San Giovanni in Laterano, which is also the cathedral of Rome, and Santa Maria Maggiore. Both churches are quite impressive, not as much in what concerns the exterior, but the interior architecture and also the many beautiful statues and wonderful frescoes. From Santa Maria we went to the Borghese Gardens. Ana wanted to see the Zoo but I was planning to do something else, perhaps walk in the gardens, which I had heard were beautiful. We stopped first at a restaurant near Trinita dei Monti, 'cause we were starving. We then went to Piazza del Popolo and arrived there just when it started to rain (by the way, in spite of the forecast that announced rain for the entire duration of our staying, the weather was actually warm, with just a few showers). We took refuge inside a small museum with the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci, which was quite interesting. When we got out the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. We had to be home by 7 pm, as Mihaela, the owner of the B&B, had offered to take us to a night drive around the city. So there was no time to go to the Zoo. Not that I minded :). After all, I didn't go to Rome to see wild animals. If I wanted that I'd have gone on an African safari...
So we took the subway from Piazza di Spagna and went home.
The night drive was wonderful. Mihaela first took us to eat ice-cream and then we went to see Rome from above, from the Lovers' Hill. The panorama was totally breathtaking. Never in my life have I seen something so beautiful... From there we drove by the Colosseum, the pyramid of Caius Cestius, the Circo Massimo (where chariot races used to be held in old times), Piazza Venezia, Piazza di Spagna, Trevi, Lungotevere (that's the Tiber river bank)... Rome is also beautiful by night.

Day 4 - Vatican

We dedicated Monday to the Vatican Museum and San Pietro. I'm not going to describe everything we saw at the museum (where we spent 4 hours), because that would require lots of details and also lots of time, I'll just say that it really impressed me, especially the Sixtine Chappel. San Pietro literally left me with my mouth open. The moment I set foot inside I was overwhelmed. Again, that feeling of smallness and insignificance... Though, one thing that didn't impress me as much as I thought it would, was Michelangelo's "Pieta". Somehow I had pictured it bigger...
We also went up in the dome of San Pietro, to see Rome from above, this time during the day. The view is indeed wonderful, but getting there is a real nightmare. Lots of stairs (of course, there's an elevator if you want, for part of the climb) and towards the end a very narrow corridor, which is also inclined to about 80 degrees. Even if you're not claustrophobic you'll sure feel like one... But all this is forgotten when you get outside and you feel like you're on top of the world.
Although we were dead-tired, in the evening we went and took photos of the Colosseum. It's even more beautiful in the dark, because it's all lit up and there's almost no one around. Unfortunately my camera doesn't take extraordinary pictures during the night, but I managed to capture quite a few decent ones. I think I'm gonna have to invest in a better camera :).

Day 5 - Leaving on a jet plane... NOT!

And so we come to the story of how I managed to miss my flight...
After an argument I had with Ana when we returned from the Colosseum, we decided to visit different things on what was supposed to be our last day in Rome. But before that we went to that we went to see the crypt with the tombs of the Popes at San Pietro, which we didn't manage to do on Monday. Afterward the two of them went to (take a guess) the Zoo and I took the bus towards the Baths of Caracalla. I didn't think I would, but I really enjoyed the time I spent alone. It was really quiet in the park that surrounded the ruins as there were not many visitors. After the Baths I went to see the pyramid of Caius Cestius and then Marcello's Theater, close to Piazza Venezia, from where I took the bus and went home. I got to the B&B around 4 pm, had lunch and waited for my friends. We were all supposed to meet there at 5-5:30. It was 5:30 and they hadn't come back. I tried to call Anna but couldn't get through. 5:45, then 6. At 6 I wanted to leave but my friend, Mihaela's sister, convinced me to wait for them at least until 6:15. She thought we'd had plenty of time to catch our flight, which was leaving at 8:55. At 6:15, when I was with my bags at the door, they came. I should have gone anyways, but instead I waited for them to get ready. So we left home at 6:30, took the subway another 21 stations and arrived at the bus station at 7:25, five minutes after the buss had left. The next one was at 8:00. The schedule said the bus ride takes about 15 minutes. I was starting to become worried, but my friends were calm, which really annoyed me. We go to the airport 10 minutes after the check-in was closed. Although the plane would take off in 30 minutes, plenty of time for us to catch it, 'cause Ciampino's a small airport, they refused to let us do the check-in, even if we offered to carry our own bags to the plane. I was a nervous wreck. I yelled at my friends for being so totally irresponsible, I started crying and when I finally calmed down (sort of) I called my cousin and asked her if she could find us three tickets on the Blue Air flight from Fiumicino airport the next day. We were lucky, but it cost us 108 euro each. We were also lucky to have a place to stay over night, because Mihaela hadn't given our room yet.

I have nothing to tell from my last day there, just that I was happy to get back home. Not that I hadn't enjoyed Rome, but the previous day had thrown a black cloud over the entire experience. Nevertheless, I'm trying to slowly erase it and all the other differences of opinion we had. That's what happens when people want different things...

I want to go to Rome again, perhaps next year, who knows ;)

My Life in Images

Who said spring is cool?

I might not be going to Rome, but to Forks, lol! Ok, that's not funny at all... I checked the weather forecast for Rome, Italy, for 27-31 March and it said: cloudy, light rain, rain, rain and cloudy again :(. Fortunately it won't be cold, which is a good thing, and they didn't mention anything about wind, which is another good thing. Lucky I bought a new umbrella yesterday...

It's like Vienna all over again. Except it was June.

Rome, baby! Rome...

For the connoisseurs this was meant to sound like "La Push, baby! La Push..." (Twilight)

So, it's only two days left until my Roman vacation and I'm a bit worried... that I won't have enough time to see all there is to be seen. I know for sure I won't miss the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, but there's just so much to see and so little time... Well, five days might seem enough, but for me they don't. Guess if I like it I will go again ;). And I have absolutely no doubt about liking Rome...

Later edit:

I saw earlier The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and seeing Santorini again it made me think of my vacation in Crete in 2007 and my cruise to Santorini. I really want to go there again. My cousin said we might go to Athens this autumn, which is a good compensation :). But I still want to go to Satorini again and stay more than just a few hours. At least a week, that would be perfect! God, I love Greece...

Cristina, don't forget to breathe...

This is a message I received on Saturday from Silvia. She knew I was re-reading Eclipse, the Romanian version this time. It all started last week when my friend Ella and I went to see Twilight again at the cinema. It was like the 5th time for both of us, but we HAD to see it again. During the kissing scene Ella turned to me and said "Cristina, breathe!". I was so caught by the moment that I didn't realize I was unconsciously holding my breath (ok, I haven't had any "action" since July, so I was simply "living" the moment :) ). Of course we had a laugh about this afterwards, and the second day she told Silvia. But she's not getting away with it that easily :). She just received her order of the first three books of the saga and tonight around midnight I'm planning to text her: "Ella, don't forget to breathe!" :):):)

Right, so I became hooked on Twilight. I'm a junkie and that's my drug. As it says in the book, it's "exactly my brand of heroin". As soon as I'm back from Rome I'm gonna buy the dvd. Although, the Romanian version of it's not the extended edition. Now THAT's the one I'd like to have! Today for the first time in my life I spent more than 5 minutes on Amazon. Usually I would end up on that site by mistake, while searching something on Google. But today I entered it intentionally. Was looking for Catherine Hardwicke's book, Twilight: Director's Notebook, and boy did I find some "treasures" :). The two-disc special edition dvd, the movie companion, the Cullen family crest authentic prop replica jewelry... If only my salary would allow me all of those :)

Ok, I know I'm going crazy here :). I made it almost a ritual in the morning to listen to the Twilight soundtrack and I also listen to it at work. I thought I had gone past this phase after The Phantom of the Opera but I guess I was wrong... Like Edward, "I'll just have to endure it". Thank God I have two sufferance companions. But it's such a sweet torture :). If this is hell, then I WANT MORE!!! And it's such a long wait until the release of New Moon, the movie (November 20)... *Sigh*

Later edit:
Ok, so I had to get back to this post because I wrote it at work, in a hurry, with one of my colleagues always coming to me with questions. Try to concentrate to writing in your blog under such condition :). So later today I came into possession of Twilight on dvd. Yeah, it's not the original, but a pirate copy. It has some Special Features, but not all of them work. The only ones that work are some extended scenes that didn't make it to the movie in full. Frankly, I don't get all this taking out and cutting... I also saw a couple of perfectly good deleted scenes the other day and wondered why they decided to take them out. They would have made the movie so much better! They took out a big part of the book and some of these scenes made sense to the ones who read it. Ok, so they would have made the film a bit longer. Well, compared to Watchmen, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing. I did see Watchmen and I did like it, but I agree it was a bit too long (just like this post is getting)... I don't think that 10-15 minutes of Twilight would have damaged the movie. Au contraire!

I was thinking of watching it again, but instead I chose to watch only a few scenes that I liked. And so I remembered something else that attracted me to it, not just the story. It's Edward and Bella, or should I say Rob and Kristen, the actors. Their play is so genuine... You can actually see the struggle on Edward's face when he's close to her, or when he kisses her, how he fights against his instinct to hurt her. I saw him Sunday evening in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and I could have easily mistaken Cedric Diggory for Edward Cullen. Apart from the fierce look in Edward's eyes (come on, he's a predator after all), there was the same natural smile, which I also saw in his interviews. So no faking here, Rob was MADE to play Edward, there's no doubt about it. As for Bella, I still need to see some more of Kristen's movies (I already have What Just Happened?), but she also seems to fit perfectly to the role. She's also natural, she doesn't seem to struggle with te character. Actually, I saw her in Jumper recently and I recognized her on the spot, even though she only had a few seconds on the screen. But the look on her face, the shake of her head, the way she spoke, it instantly made me think of Bella. I can't think of anyone who would have made a better interpretation of the character. And I think I do have a "nose" for this. For example, I think Anna Paquin is NOT Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood. And this opinion has been shared by others. As far as I can remember, I have read the books a while ago, Sookie was not as stupid as Anna makes her look. And frivolous... Frankly, I would have cast Katherine Heigl, she's more like the Sookie I imagined. But this is just my opinion...

Right when I'm "talking" too much it means I'm tired and I should go to bed, which I'll probably do in just a few minutes, right after I update the post above :)

May child...

Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children.Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

We're one, but we're not the same...

Today was the first day of spring. At least that's what the calendar says and that's what I felt when I went outside today. Lots of sun and warm weather... quite amazing, given that last week-end i was at the mountains, where there was plenty of snow...

And since it was such a lovely day today I decided not to stay in, but instead met a couple of my friends and also saw this amazing U2 concert at the cinema. I know it's a weird place to watch a concert, but it was not just an ordinary concert, but the first one filmed in 3D HD... It was filmed during their Vertigo tour, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I must admit I have not seen a 3D movie yet, so I didn't know what to expect. As I said, it was totally amazing! At times it felt like I was on stage with them, kicking the drums with Larry or soloing on the guitar with The Edge. At other times it felt like I was in the audience, right in front of the stage, or maneuvering the camera from above the crowd... Sometimes they seemed to be so close, i could see the sweat on Bono's forehead... The most amazing part was during "Sunday, Bloody Sunday". When Bono was singing "I'll wipe your tears away" the camera was really close to him and he was reaching out to it. it seemed like he was reaching out to me and I almost wanted to reach out and take his hand... I know the feeling when seeing a recorded concert is not like being in the crowd and seeing them live, but this was indeed a unique experience... Wonder if there's any Bon Jovi concert recorder in 3D...

Although Bon Jovi is my all time favorite band, U2 will forever hold an honorary 2nd place in my heart. Ok, let's not forget Boyzone, from my boy-bands phase... U2 doesn't just sing, but they try, and sometimes succeed, to deliver social messages through their songs. And if we could all just stop for a moment and listen, I mean really LISTEN, I truly believe we could make our world a better and safer world to live in... When I first saw the image above during the concert, written on banners and bandannas, I didn't quite realize what it meant. OK, I did figure out it was the Muslim crescent symbol, the Jewish Star of David and the Christian cross, and that it did have something to do with the fact that "we're one". But I just didn't see that it spelled "COEXIST". Here's a quote from an articke I found on http://www.atu2.com:

"And in the midst of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' (which, according to Bono, doesn't just belong to Ireland anymore) Bono points to each religious icon and declares:

'Jesus, Jew, Muhammad, it's true...All sons of Abraham. Father Abraham, speak to your sons. Tell them, No more!'"

The entire article can be found here: http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=3995. It is really interesting to read.

Wonder if U2 will be coming to Romania soon, because I'd like to see them live too :)

Is there a time to walk for cover
A time for kiss and tell
Is there a time for different colors
Different names you find it hard to spell

Is there a time for first communion
A time for Synagogue
Is there a time to turn to Mecca
Is there a time to be a beauty queen

Here she comes
Beauty plays the clown
Here she comes
Surreal in her crown

On any other day I might just go crazy...

There's nothing special about today, just that when I left for work this morning I turned on my iPod and this was the first song I heard. It kinda made my day seem a bit brighter, in spite of the clouds and the cold...

I was thinking the other day about my trip to Rome next month, whether I should still go with everything that's going on there right now with the Romanians. Feels like I'm going to a war zone... Anyways, been talking to people about this and most of them said I should just go and not let myself influenced by what's happening. Oh, and try to speak as little Romanian as I can... God, why should I be afraid of being what I am? Why should I be ashamed of being Romanian? I know Italians are overreacting, and the truth is that out of 60 crimes only 7 are commited by Romanians, and most of them are gipsies. But this has taken on bigger proportions than it should have. Most of the "Romanian criminals" are gipsies and this affects Romania's image in a bad way. We should really do something to improve it...

On a more happy note, I just bought tickets to Madonna's concert on August 26th :).

I'll leave you with Bon Jovi for the moment...

Alarm clock rings, it's 6:45,
Must have hit that snooze button least 3 times,
Wishing this morning was still last night,
On any other day, just might wanna die.

Traffics backed up 20 miles to the east,
Must have hit every damn red light on the street,
Weatherman says "It's gonna rain for a week"
Hey, what can you do?

On any other day, I'd be blue eyes cryin',
I could tell the world, 'At least I'm tryin',
The clouds are breakin',
The sun is shinin' new for me and you.
On any other day, I would just go crazy,
the grace is knowing that you're gonna save me,
Baby luck and love,
Will pull us through?
On any other day
Yeah, Yeah!

On any other day, I might just stay in bed
Sit down in a sea of blankets
Pull them up over my head
Get your papers in the morning

Just to get a little edge

Then maybe just give up in time to do it all again
Hey, I like where this is going
Yeah, 'cause I know where it's been

Alarm clock rings, it's 6:45,
I like waking up with you on my mind
Knowing that you're saving me
One more time.

On any other day, I would just go crazy,
the grace is knowing that you're gonna save me,
Baby luck and love,
Will pull us through?
On any other day
Yeah, Yeah!

My own personal brand of heroine…

I’m a vampire freak. Always have been and for sure always will be. That doesn’t mean I like drinking blood or I put on white compact powder, use tons of black eye-liner and crimson-red lipstick. No, I just like vampire stories.

Thus, for a few weeks now I’ve developed a “Twilight” obsession. Yeah, I know, the virus that’s been going around has made another victim. It all started from a harmless discussion with a friend about another vampire movie, “True Blood” (ok, TV series), also based on a series of books. This one just started on HBO here so at that time I hadn’t seen it. Same thing with “Twilight”. But my friend made me curious and I “Googled it” and “IMDB’d it”. Found two of the books, “Twilight” and “New Moon”, which were already published in Romania so I ordered them online. Yeah, too lazy to go to a bookstore, I know, but this way I could also take advantage of my 10% discount I have at that certain publishing house ;). So, long story short, I read the two books in one week-end and then downloaded the other two, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”, in English. Read them the next week-end, when I also decided to go see the movie at the cinema. Well, I had my mind made up on seeing it for the entire week but couldn’t find anyone else interested. When finally a friend said she’d go with me, she called two hours before the movie saying something came up and she had to cancel. But that didn’t stop me. When I set my mind to something I have to do it. Which I did. Got into my car, drove to the mall, bought one ticket and enjoyed each and every minute of the movie! Never had imagined that that Cedric Diggory character from “Harry Potter” would make such a cool vampire, lol! Some people never cease to amaze ;). The movie was really well done and the soundtrack is amazing! Loads of rock, as I like it ;). There was one thing that seemed really funny, to me at least, in front of the high school there was a sign that said "Forks High, Home of The Spartans". Made me think of "300"...

It’s been a while since a book impressed me that much. I think the last one that did was Cecelia Ahern’s “P.S. I Love You”. I’m not sure if it’s the part about the vampires and werewolves that got to me or the intense love story between Edward, the vampire, and Bella, the human, with all the ups and downs, with all the good and the bad... Or who knows, maybe it was the rivalry between Edward and Jacob, the Indian / werewolf, for Bella’s heart, especially Jacob’s perseverance in trying to win her, although her choice was clear. Guess I put myself too much in Bella’s shoes. There were some similar situations I have gone through, maybe too many times, that I don’t want to go through again… And there were some things I’m longing to live and to feel too. Like having someone tell me “You are my life now” or “You’re like my own personal brand of heroine…”. I want to be someone’s life and I want someone to be mine…Although, having to decide between two people I love and who love me back is not something that appeals to me. One person is enough :)

It’s about time this solitude of mine ended! And the fact that today is Valentine’s Day is not helping at all…

Am really looking forward for next week-end, to spend some quality time with my friends at the mountains. That should keep my mind occupied for at least two days ;)

P.S. I was just fooling around on a site I found (http://www.taaz.com) when I created the photo above ;)

wish list

One of my first posts on my 360 blog was a wish list with things I wanted to accomplish in the near future (not big things, like world peace or discover penicillin – oh wait, it’s already been discovered – but small things that to me mean a lot). I checked the list again in December 2007 to see what I did and what not. I should have checked it again last December, just to keep with the tradition, but unfortunately it was a time I had stopped blogging. Since it’s only January I don’t think it’s too late to do it now. So here it is:

1. see Bon Jovi in concert – DID IT!!! June 4th, 2008 - Ebreichsdorf, Austria
2. find a boyfriend (a real one, not someone who pretends to want a relationship just to get me in bed) – darn, I let myself be fooled again…
3. spend more time with my friends – I’ll have to work more on this one
4. visit Dublin – was planning to do it this year, but man those Aer Lingus plane tickets cost so much :(
5. see Bon Jovi in concert – see no.1 :)
6. visit the pyramids - still time
7. visit the Parthenon – unless I go to Paris in September, Athens is my next destination (after Rome, in March :))
8. see Bon Jovi in concert – see no.1 and 5
9. go to San Francisco – I think this is no longer something I should consider (friends know why), and instead I should change it into go to Atlanta to hang out with Sami :)
10. catch a falling star (even one from Hollywood) – yeah, I’m still waiting for Gerard Butler to shoot a movie in Romania…
11. star in a movie (perhaps in my dreams) – I didn’t, but my cat Mishu is the star of my homemade videos :)
12. sing with Bon Jovi – DID THIS TOO!!! And live! Them on stage and me in the audience :)

Ok, since most of the items on this list have been accomplished I should come up with some new ones. Perhaps after I’m coming back from Rome… ;)

a new start

haven't blogged in quite a while and i'm starting to miss it :)
was thinking of getting back to it but never seemed to find the time. things at work are hectic and don't seem to improve unfortunately. even though one of the girls who was on maternity leave got back to work at the beginning of this month i'm still stuck with a lot of paperwork... i'm explaining her things she used to do in the past (like 2 years ago) and also some new things, not complicated, but she's always distracted and doesn't write down anything. i remember when i first came to work here i had to learn things on my own. the girl who had my job had moved to marketing and didn't help me much. she was telling me where to go, who to talk to, but not sitting down with me and showing me how to actually do things. several reports she only showed me once hot to do them and then i was on my own. lucky for me i'm a very fast learner ;). and now everyone comes to me to ask for help, and i'm glad to offer it :)
ok, getting back to blogging, i've decided to move here from yahoo 360. haven't blogged there from august last year either, but i was starting to lose interest for it anyways. it was getting too "flashy" for me... wonder if i can import my blogs from there...
i'll get back here tomorrow for a fresh new start ;)