Cornelia's Little Blogosphere

Amy rocks

2009-05-11T17:35:00.001-07:00

Motherlover HAHAHAHAH

2009-05-10T11:34:00.001-07:00

LOL-romanians...

2009-05-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sq9geFuQDM&feature=player_embedded

shame on me...

2009-05-08T17:52:00.001-07:00

...for not mentioning anything about Frenchie. Once again, i disappointed her by not saying how excited i am to go to southern france to visit her. she said the only way i can truly apologize is to buy her a ski-jet.
so, i hereby declare that, once i become a wealthy person i will buy frenchie a ski-jet. putain, i can't believe you actually made me feel guilty about not mentioning you in the entry...
miss you, tho, and this year at umbc has definitely been less fun without you. can't wait to see you in Menton, meet ur family (and i won't make any inappropriate jokes), and finally see Othello.

upon laura's request

2009-05-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

so it's been a looong long time since i last posted anything on this blog. today i got a message from laura: "dude, you gotta get back to posting stuff on your blog, cause i am getting bored, and i have nothing interesting to read". aw, thanks, laura!
i was giving up on posting stuff on this blog for two reasons:
1) i was becoming amazed at the number of bloggers out there. everyone has something to say, and they need a special spot in cyberspace to do it. i never intended this blog to be "one of those blogs". it was just a way for me to sorta keep in touch with the folks i don't get to see that often (aka my Romanian friends, or the people from the other coast). anyway, i decided to take a break and give up posting for a while. i guess i am back now that laura is getting bored :) :P
2) i had less time for blogging as the year went on. graduating seems to be quite demanding. i mean, i have a bucket list, and i am still not even halfway through it. i still need to do so much stuff, and now i only have 2 weeks left in Maryland. geez, time went by fast!

so here's what i've been up to, since my supersternal-notch entry:
- i finished my fall semester and i went back to romania. ate a lot, of course, cause that's what romanians do best. spent some time in the mountains with some of my favorite people, hung out with friends and...ate some more.
- i started my spring semester with new tennis coaches. it was kinda weird meeting them at the beginning. didn't quite know what to expect, but everything turned out alright in the end. i played really well the entire semester. i basically tried to have as much fun as i could, because i knew i would never play competitive college tennis again. i did not think i would care so much about not playing college tennis anymore. however, at my last match (against boston U) i cried my eyes out. my "sensitive" side came out...
- i am the non-valedictorian this year!! haha, it is called "salutatorian" and i guess i did well enough in school to get it. there are two good things about being the salutatorian: 1) my mom plus friends get to sit in the VIP section at graduation; 2) i don't have to write a speech and read it to the entire graduating class (i feel bad for the valedictorian,cause she has to do that...)

here's what's happening this summer:
- i will be in europe for 3 months!!!!!! that hasn't happened in 4 years! i am coming to Romania on May25th or so. I will be there for 3-4-5 days. then i am going to Turkey for about a week. then, Budapest in July, for 2 weeks. then, hopefully, barcelona and south of france in august. :-)
- Ale and Lauren are visiting in June! I will show them around constanta, the mountains, and i will take them to turkey! sooo excited about it! my "soul-mate", alice, is coming in august, and she will accompany me to france and barcelona. i can't wait to introduce my american friends to my romanian friends! to my romanian friends: it's their first time in eastern europe, so u guys be nice!
- i start work on august 31 in seattle. to all those on the east coast: if you feel like visiting seattle, you have a place to stay!

that's about it for the time being. i will post again shortly, in order to prevent laura from getting bored again ;)

so i am photogenic inside and out

2008-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

i had to go get an echo-scan of my heart today. basically, i got to see my heart on the ultrasound machine...and it is a darn cute heart! according to the lady performing the scan, i actually happen to have a photogenic Super-Sternal Notch (I really don't know what it is, but hey, it is photogenic!). I also got to listen to the blood flow through my heart; sounded like dripping water.

anyway i need to say that seeing my heart on the ultrasound was one of the coolest experiences. and...yes... that confirms my huge geekiness.

oh, all that debate

2008-10-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for Sarah Palin. I honestly do. Before the debate, people just didn't like her, and thought she was stupid. After the debate...I think it's even worse. The overall reaction is totally condescending: "Aw, bless her little heart, at least she did not completely screw it up!".
Anyway, I am a big fan of Bill Maher's show on HBO. Not that he is an authority on politics and economics, but he just gets to his points in a very direct, uncomplicated, non-bullshit way. Here's a sample of his summary on Palin:

you gotta be kiddin'...

2008-10-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

right now it's 3AM. i am looking out my window and i see 3 firemen in my dorm's courtyard. they look bored and they keep staring at the buildings around them. one of them yawns and another laughs and points at him.

problem: since these 3 guys are soo darn bored, why is it so hard to turn off the fire alarm that woke me up 15 minutes ago? why is it so hard to figure out that, since there is no smoke, there is no fire, and they should just let me go back to sleep?

ohh man...what a good night's sleep!

changes are tough to take...

2008-09-22T19:10:00.001-07:00

today we found out our main coach and our assistant coach would be leaving our team this october. after 3 years of playing for/with them, this is kind of a shock. i always imagined these two people to be a huge part of my senior year. i imagined every last tournament and every last match as something i would do with them. now it will be weird having a new coach for all these things.

well, at least i am happy that both of them got really good offers from the naval academy. they are starting a new tennis program there. it still amazes me that my school did not do more to keep these two people on their staff. it is really hard to find coaches that love their jobs as much as they do.

whoever comes in as a new coach will have some big shoes to fill...and he/she will have a rough time adjusting to the team.

"burn after reading" you guys gotta see it

2008-09-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

here's why:
- brad pitt actually manages to be really funny.
- john malkovich is brilliant as the neurotic CIA analyst who is trying to deal with idiocy surrounding him.
- the storyline is unlike anything i've seen in a comedy. on the one hand, you have the details that make this movie a bitter criticism against our self-comforting idiocy. on the other hand, you have the hilarious relationships between the characters that take you from "nothing" to chaos then again to "nothing".
- in the end, you don't waste the $10 you pay on the ticket. it's better to spend your money on "burn after reading" than on "tropical thunder" or "the women".

back to school :-(

2008-08-29T13:47:00.001-07:00

I finished my work at MS on August 15. That same day I flew out of Seattle and into Romania. I slept in my old room for one night, then I left with my parents on a trip to the mountains that took about 7 days. Then we came back to my hometown and I've been here for 2 days...and I only have 2 days till I get back on a plane to come to MD.

This summer has been a whirlwind but I've enjoyed it more than any other summer. Looking back, I really don't think I could've made this summer any better. Of course shit happened, but in the end it all made sense and it only made me better. Coming back to school is hard, because I will have to go back to my "tennis-school-no fun-no time" schedule. The only thing that actually motivates me to get back on that Baltimore-bound plane is the fact that I will get to see all my MD-people. I've missed many of them this summer.

another one that reminds me of home

2008-08-11T20:28:00.001-07:00

2008-08-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

i love my friends

2008-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

muhahahaha

2008-08-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

kids, stay in school and don't try stupid things

Ode to Frenchie (and to some other ppl i havent seen in a while)

2008-08-06T16:33:00.001-07:00

ever since i left maryland i've had one thing in my mind: getting to see frenchie again! she is my light, she is my inspiration, she is the thought that makes me smile when i wake up in the morning.

ok...seriously, frenchie was actually complaining i had forgotten about her, and that i have come to seattle to make brand new friends. well, i havent forgotten about her, OR my other MD friends.

so let me tell u about some of the MD people (the order is not relevant and, if i forget anyone, it is because i've been working for 12 hours already, and i still have shit to do ahead of me).

- frenchie: of course i had to start with her. frenchie's real name is pascaline. she is obviously from france. she might just be the funniest person i've ever met. you cannot get bored around her, simply because she is always up to shenanigans. the best thing about her is her crazy accent. after 4 years of having her on the tennis team, my coach still cannot understand her. she can be REALLY annoying (yes, frenchie, u can be really annoying), but, at the end of the day you really cannot stay mad at her. she's too much of a good person.

- chen: aka alice, aka my roomie, aka the person that i get to share my most intimate moments with (ooohhh yeah...). hahaha! chen and i have a lot in common: we are both huge geeks, we go crazy on the tennis court, we curse (yes, chen, u do curse), and we act stupid when we are around each other. honestly, chen can make my day better just by being around. i've missed her like crazy this summer.

- ale: aka my assistant coach, aka my former doubles partner, aka the person who makes me do push-ups and suicides for each "f**k" that comes out of my mouth. i've learnt a lot from ale throughout the years. this girl is one of the few people that everyone likes. there's really nothing bad anyone could say about her. well, i can say something bad about her: she has very low tolerance for curses; i mean, seriously, ale, i don't want to do any more push-ups and suicides!! :-)

- joy: awwwww, joy! my doubles partner for the past 2 seasons. we kicked some serious ass in our conference matches. joy is this quiet, nice girl in real life. then she gets on the tennis court, and the beast is OUT! what i love about joy is her ability to organize and plan events. she can basically convince anyone to do stuff for her. honestly, this girl would make the best manager, because she has her way of making herself liked/trusted by people.

ok...so...these are the ppl from MD that i've ignored this summer. however, please note that the most important is FRENCHIE.

-hahaha, happy, french? -

it's the final countdown

2008-07-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

i have 3 more weeks left of my internship.

today, wednesday, i found out i need to put together a presentation for my General Manager (aka my 5th degree boss, aka REALLY high level) that would reflect my entire activity at MS during this summer. the presentation is supposed to happen on Friday, so it's fun-fun-fun for me for the next 48 hours.

once i am done with this presentation i need to put together a spec for a tool in about...hmm...1 week. i already know what i should put in the spec, but it will still be challenging to verbalize all the details of this thing.

anyway, the point is: i am not complaining about my workload. i actually kinda like it. however, i will be completely absent from this blog in the next 3 weeks, while i am trying to wrap things up with my internship, and while i have Alice and Ale visit me from MD.

ok, so i thought my apartment-campus was a boring, too safe environment

2008-07-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times:

Man, woman shot dead in Redmond parking lot in apparent murder-suicide

A man and a woman were found dead in the parking lot of a Redmond apartment complex in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

By Seattle Times staff

A man and a woman were found dead in the parking lot of a Redmond apartment complex in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

Redmond police were called to the Archstone Redmond Campus, 4300 block of 156th Avenue Northeast, at 9:10 a.m. for reports of gunfire, said police spokesman Jim Bove. Bove said the man shot a woman "at least eight times in the torso" before shooting himself in the temple. Police recovered a 9 mm handgun near the man's body and found a .357 Magnum tucked into the back of his pants.

Police don't know the relationship between the man and the woman. Bove said the woman lived at the complex.

He said he doesn't think police had been dispatched to the complex before for any reports of violence involving the woman.

--good thing i leave my apartment before 8AM every day --

Skittles

2008-07-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to blog about the good time I have been recently spending with some of the MS girl-interns. However, I was reading the previous post on "consumerism" and I remembered this episode that happened about 3 weeks ago.

I was spending some time on the rooftop of an MS building with 3 guys. We were just hanging out, they were having beers, I was enjoying a nice Straciatella ice cream. The mood was chill, the view from the rooftop was amazing so, naturally, we started talking about...relationships (what else can you talk about in such a setting?).

Well, one of the guys was talking about how he was trying to break up with this "chick". And he said the best comparison he could think of (to make her understand his intentions) was a Skittles-comparison. Let me elaborate: you need to try all the "flavors", and you cannot afford to spend too much time stuck on just one flavor. So, since she was just one of the flavors, he needed to let her go to continue his exploration.

Now...I actually have a pretty good opinion of the Skittles-guy. But the whole conversation we had is very indicative of the "consumerism" I was talking about in my previous entry. I also don't want to make it seem like the Skittles-mentality only applies to guys. It is just as valid for girls.

I wonder if Skittles-guy actually used his metaphor during the break-up.

it's a consumer's world out there...

2008-07-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

take a step back and look at the world today: we buy-buy-buy, we are in a rush to consume entertainment in its various forms, and we forget to fully enjoy anything we do. we are consumers/spenders/customers for everything.

when it comes to our relationships with other people, we apply the same consumer-like behavior. we look for the best deals and, once we don't like something about a certain deal, we drop it. we don't try to fix things, we just replace them. that's why we have the really high divorce rates,and that's why our friends are just temporary.

"I don't compromise" seems to be our catch-phrase. well, why NOT compromise? what is so bad about compromises? oh...yeah...they take time and effort. and we are unwilling/unable to provide those two things; we cannot "bargain" for our deals. we just want everything upfront and within easy reach.

so...i guess my point is: we need to slow things down. how do we do that?...

(I just came across this song; it is romanian; you don't need to understand the lyrics, just watch the clip).

missing my people / my fam

2008-07-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

today more than ever i feel the need to be around my family and around my old, old friends...i guess i am homesick all of a sudden. the song below is one of my old-time favorites. i kinda grew up loving this band's songs.
the song is about falling inlove during the summer; mine is almost gone...

smooth flow

2008-07-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Jazz Alley: dim lights, amazing food,awesome jazz-loving crowd, and, of course, the smooth flow of live jazz. I closed my eyes and let myself get carried away by the rythm. I forgot about work/people/specs/meetings/drama; it was all about me and the unbelievable high I got every time the saxophone started playing.

It was also about watching the reactions of those around me. There was a couple right across from my table; they were celebrating their 1-year anniversary. He was wearing a fly, old-fashion hat, and he had his arm around his woman; she was dressed up and had stars in her eyes every time she looked at her man. At some point they stood up and started dancing. They were the only ones doing it, and they enjoyed every second of it.

...And then there was the lonely lady to the right of my table. She seemed to be 40-50, and she was looking really pretty. This lady was having dinner all by herself and, to be honest, I felt really bad for her that night. However, looking back, I think I like her better than the couple. You see, she did not need some anniversary-excuse to go out and have some fun at a jazz club. She was not dressed up for someone else, and she was not trying to impress any friend or any lover. She was just enjoying herself, the music, and the food at a classy jazz club. You go, girl!

we all have good things inside us...

2008-07-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

yesterday i went out with a group of interns. we ended up at this hookah-place downtown seattle (i think it is called "zaina"). hookah = ok; company = awesome; crazy old guy that kept telling us jokes = HILARIOUS!

- hookah: it was actually my first time smoking one of these. i enjoyed some minty flavor; i was not a huge fan of the rest of the flavors (too sweet).

- company: a bunch of fun interns plus my friend, hero, who was flown in by MS all the way from NC. since the place had some pretty good dance music, it didn't take long before hero, deb, mehmet and i turned the narrow space between tables into a mini-dance floor (there's nothing like some amateur belly-dancing =P ).

- crazy old guy: i will go back to "zaina" just because of this dude (i dont know what his job is, but he works there). he was probably in his 60's, and he had the funniest jokes. every 5-10 minutes he would come by our table and share his wisdom with us. i would post some of his quotes here, but...idk....i might be tagged for inapropriate blog-content. (if you really want to hear some of them, i will tell you in person).

Laura is not here

2008-07-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was doing some random browsing on Youtube and I found one of my all-time favorite songs. Enjoy Nek e sua bellissima canzone.

many of you will relate to this...cause you do it too

2008-07-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

what happens when we all get too polite? what happens when we can no longer be honest about what we think, and we hide behind linguistic tricks?

charlie bartlett

2008-07-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

If you are sorta nostalgic about high school days, you can watch this movie. I liked it because it reminded me of some of the people from my high school. And it reminded me about being 17-18 and enjoying the really small things. And it really put me in a good mood, when i needed it the most.
Pay attention to Charlie's mother. I found her hilarious. And pay attention to Charlie's anti-suicide speech; it is probably the best i've ever heard in a movie.

7 week report :-P

2008-07-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

i just had my mid-internship review with my manager. his feedback was generally positive, so i am happy. he asked a pretty interesting question during the review meeting: "so do you feel that your time here has been going by quickly?".

i honestly did not know what to answer..."both" i said, and he kinda took it as a bad sign. "well, it is really not a bad sign", i tried to explain...

if i think of the stuff i've learned at work, then time has flown by pretty slowly. i know a lot more about Search; i know a lot more stuff about how things work at Microsoft; i've changed my mind about the industry (initially i thought it was not a great thing); all these put together make me feel like i've been here for quite a while.

if i think of the fun-stuff i've been doing (meeting people, going places) then, yes, time has flown by pretty quickly so far, and i feel like i still need to do a lot more stuff before my internship ends. i've met sooo many interesting interns, that it will be hard to leave this place and go back to MD. let's see, here are short descriptions of some of them:
- the "fab four" explorers who work in the same "hallway office" as me. Ronny, Judith, Nik, and Nikki. they are waaay to loud sometimes. they make fun of ronny all the time (well, he's just really funny to begin with). they are nice to have around; whenever i am too tired or need to relax, i just take my headphones off and listen to their stories. judith always talks about her funny family, nik always picks on judith, nikki can sneeze for 10 times in a row, and ronny...well...ronny is just ronny and that's enough.
- phil and lucky: the amazing SDE interns from Commerce Search. their projects are hard as hell, but they've been doing great work so far (their managers have nothing but good things to say about them). phil is my doubles partner for ping pong, but i havent played any matches with him in a looong while (yeah, i need to work less). lucky is the mellow overachiever; good for really deep/serious conversations; bad for ping pong cause he always kicks my ass (my expansive ego cant take that).
- the "champions": i met these kids because of Tom. Tom is this perfect example of a "social butterfly". he brings people together, and he can organize some of the best parties. you can't get bored when he is around. the "champions" themselves are a pretty interesting group. geeky as hell, but REALLY fun. so far, i need to admit tho that, out of all the champions, my favorite is Mehmet. he is this larger-than-life guy with tons of energy. he is the life of the party, and he says he will help me make dolmas ("sarmale", for romanians).
- the "russians": well, in this group most of the people are russian, or at least from the former Soviet block. hmm...let's see, my favorite in the group is this guy called eugene (idk how to spell the russian version of his name). he's the type of chill dude with a really naughty smirk on the face. my next favorites are Janette (i am sure i spelled that wrong) and Barjan. they are an interesting couple: Barjan is this ADD-guy who starts talking to random people on the street with a fake Borat-accent (Barjan is actually from Kazahstan). Janette seems to be the opposite: she is a typical good-girl, with really good taste in clothes.

well, so...this is how i would summarize my 7 weeks in seattle so far. i did not want to talk about work, cause i get enough of it all day long. i also did not want to talk about the places i've seen, cause...they are just places. the folks around me, tho , they are pretty awesome and this would be an entirely different experience without them :)

P-A-R-T-YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY - watch till end

2008-07-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

HAHAHA

2008-07-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

wall-e is the shit

2008-06-30T09:28:00.001-07:00

i went to see wall-e two days ago. honestly, it was the best animated movie i have ever seen. there's almost no dialogue in the movie, but you barely notice it. you will be entertained till the very end. and, oh, yeah, wall-e is soooo cute!

2008-06-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

A few months back, Jen Frickell's company was given some bad news. When their lease ended, they'd have to move out of their second-floor suite. The good news, however, was that a suite would be available on the first floor. All they'd need to do was pack up and move downstairs.

It was a fairly reasonable request, so the company's executives signed a new lease and prepared to move. There was, however, just one, small hitch. The nice little server room they built in the back of their office - equipped with air conditioning units, ventilation, dedicated power, backup power, and so on - could not be relocated. Not only would it cost too much, but there was simply no room for it. The server room would just have to remain upstairs.

Obviously, the new second-floor tenant wouldn't want their neighbors walking through their office to access a server room, so building management and the company's executives came up with an alternative: wall off the server room door and build a new one. It seemed simple enough, but there was, however, just one small hitch. The only available wall to install a door was adjacent to the women's restroom. Inside the handicapped stall.

And since you're reading about it here, you know that didn't stop them. Here is the email from building management:

From: ---- --------
Sent: Monday, May 5, 2008 4:37 PM
To: Everyone
Subject: Server Room Access

Hi all.

As you all are aware, we have new tenants that have moved into
the 2nd floor suites. The access to the server room is now via
the women’s bathroom.

There will be a sign on the woman’s door that can be changed
from OPEN to CLOSED and vice versa.

Should you need to enter the server room, please change the sign
to CLOSED. Once you are done, please change it back to OPEN.

Once you enter the bathroom, you will be able to access the
server room via the handicapped stall. Please close the stall
door prior to entry, just in case someone doesn’t see that the
bathroom is closed.

I know this isn’t ideal, but if we adhere to this protocol, I
don’t think anyone will be disrupted.

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions.

---- --------
Building Management

Another one goes

2008-06-23T13:16:00.001-07:00

best work-game ever

2008-06-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

http://majman.net/fly_loader.html

try it out, seriously.

for my romanians

2008-06-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Din ciclul "Am fost un dobitoc, mai sunt oare si acum ?"

"Exista aici, in aceasta sala, tineri care au murit in revolutia din decembrie 1989"
-- Viorel Catarama

"Lumea are voie sa aiba doua conturi; unul in lei, unul in valuta si inca unul pentru economii. Mai mult nu"
-- Florin Georgescu (fost ministru al finantelor)

"S-au verificat toate actele pe fostii trei ani pe care am fost primar"
-- Marian Vanghelie

"A garanta proprietatea inseamna a limita dreptul omului asupra proprietatii lui"
-- Ion Iliescu

"Bancile sunt conduse de bancheri in toata lumea in afara de Cismigiu si Herastrau"
-- Bogdan Balthazar (director de banca)

"Becali e un brand. Eu la Avicola Iasi pot sa fac pui Gigi Becali, daca vreau"
-- Gigi Becali

"Doar prin hazardul inconstient social nu se putea ajunge in sfere atat de aureolate si in plan financiar"
-- Cornel Dinu (antrenor de fotbal)

"Dumnezeu e cel mai tare serviciu de informatii din lume - stie tot, chiar si-un fir de par"
-- Gigi Becali

"Familia e sfanta, pe cand patria....cum sa va spun patria e sacra'
-- Dumitru Dragomir

"Destinul meu a fost marcat de soarta"
-- Dan Iosif (copil al strazii apoi revolutionar, apoi consilierul lui Iliescu, in prezent parlamentar si om bogat -decedat)

"Omul este o persoana umana"
-- Gheorghe Hagi

"Este vointa lui Dumnezeu ca eu sa pasc acest popor"
-- Gigi Becali

"Domnul Ion Cristoiu a spus despre mine ca sunt corupt pe vremea cand nu eram, in 1993"
-- Viorel Hrebenciuc (parlamentar P.S.D .)

"Eu in tinerete eram amfitrion pe oriunde ma duceam"
-- Gigi Becali

"Eu sunt pe toate listele de corupti si arestati, dar nu am nicio greata"
-- Viorel Hrebenciuc

"Pe la voi prin Chisinau trece Volga, nu? Cum? Nu mai trece?"
-- Loredana Groza

"Sigur ca am auzit de El Nino. E numele unui cantaret de muzica latina, nu?"
-- Loredana Groza

"La noi, sefii de partide sunt ca vacile in India"
-- Antonie Iorgovan

"Domnul Iorgovan e un fel de electron sarit de pe orbita"
-- Adrian Nastase

"Omar Hayssam apartine tarii, este un bun al intregului popor"
-- Adrian Nastase

"Am invatat putin limba braziliana!"
-- Loredana Groza

"M-am certat cu Mitica Dragomir, dar fara jigniri. El m-a facut oligofren, eu l-am facut zdreanta, dar nu ne-am insultat. In schimb Marian Iancu e obraznic si umbla cu tot felul de jargoane care nu e bine sa le dai la presa"
-- Gigi Becali

"Fiecare are gusturile lui in muzica.. N-are cum sa asculte toata lumea numai Schopenhauer"
-- Costi Ionita

P.S.
Be afraid…. Be very afraid! Mama tampitilor e MEREU gravida !!!

new funny stuff at work

2008-06-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

some more funny things about my floor:

1) there is a guy who looks like dwight from "the office". he has the glasses (ok, a more modern take on them), the serious face, and the gray wardrobe. his office is completely not decorated (I think he might be new). i am trying to take a picture of him, because, when i tell people about him, they don't believe me.

2) my manager got me this nice beach towel that says "microsoft Live Search". sure, geeky enough, but hey, i like it. and none of the interns has that towel. so i feel special. and my manager scored a lot of "coolness points" with me for that towel.

ok, this is not work-related:
3) today i was at the pro-club, playing some tennis with john - he is my newest practice partner (he is really good). when i came off the court, this lady stopped me and said "oh, my god, you are so good. i couldn't keep my eyes off you! you are really good". yeah, i am not exaggerating. extra bit of information: there are not too many good tennis people at the pro-club (not too many college or ex-college players). so that justifies the lady's reaction.

diversity at the work place

2008-06-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

- there's a guy on my floor who is always wearing skirts. honestly, he actually looks really good in them. so, here's a suggestions to my male friends: guys, you should try wearing skirts; they can make you look really good (and no, they don't make you girly).

- there's another guy who is obviously a huge metal fan. i was turning the corner trying to get to my workspace one day, and i somehow bumped into him. he was wearing a skull t-shirt, dressed all in black, loose long hair (the guy is really tall too). needless to say, i had a pretty weird reaction ("Oh, WOOW!" -yeah, i said that). the guy smiled at me (sorta ironically as in "you woos") and kept on walking. i later found out the guy is really nice, and i felt bad for having that reaction when i saw him.

- there's another guy that looks like dwight from "the office". i don't know who he is, but i am really entertained whenever i see him. who knows, maybe one day he will say something like "Hey, question:..." :D:D:D:D

...ok, my workplace is interesting :P

good weather

2008-06-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! some good weather in seattle. i went outside for lunch today, and i finally saw the sun! i hope the weather stays like this from now on. too much rain for me in the past two weeks, and i wasn't even ready for it. i only brought my summer clothes from maryland, so i was definitely unprepared for the 50-degree weather out here.

in other news...parts of my project are starting to materialize. as i probably said in a previous post, i am dealing with data quality for the Commerce Search team at microsoft. well, today i finally feel less retarded, and i think i have a better grasp of where i am going. (geez, i hope i dont jinx it, i hope this feeling stays that way).

also in other news...i am really looking forward to this weekend. on friday evening i am taking an underground tour of seattle (basically seattle was burnt to the ground a long time ago; instead of cleaning the ashes, people decided to just build on top of the former city; so, basically, u have entire streets of the old city right under the new city). on saturday i might be going to Mt. Saint Helen; it is supposed to be a pretty nice place. o sunday, i am probably taking a ferry ride to one of the nearby islands (i dont know it's name), and then hanging out downtown.

i've been working a lot this week, so i think i deserve a fun, relaxing weekend. i will make sure to post some pictures.

microsoft people

2008-06-11T09:40:00.001-07:00

as i said in a previous post, the people at microsoft are pretty interesting.
this is another intern's website; software developer in test by day, artist by night :-). here's the link: forbiddenrain.net . check it out.

too funny

2008-06-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

back to blogging

2008-06-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

i have not posted anything in a looong time. it's not that i was too busy (well, i was sorta busy). it's just that i've been enjoying all the new experiences by myself, and i was not in the share mood. well, now i am back in the share mood, so i can tell you people what's been going on with me.

first of all, i started my internship with Microsoft in seattle.i am currently working with the Commerce Search team on some data quality stuff (i wont go into details). i REALLY REALLY like this place so far. i know there are all sorts of rumors about microsoft going on; well, they are all false.
- "microsoft is full of geeks": FALSE. there are a lot of smart folks around here. and they are really not the geeky, unadapted type you see in the PC-Mac commercials.
- "microsoft is too competitive": FALSE. there is just a lot of good energy around here. people work hard on their stuff. it is nice coming to work and seeing that people are so involved with what they are doing. i'd much rather have this kind of high energy, than get bored all day long and wait for my 8 hours to finish.
- "at microsoft work takes over your life". HAHA, FALSE, unless you really want to make it that way. as an intern, i can say i am doing a lot of fun stuff. there are a lot of activities planned for us and no, they do not involve "code-offs".

coming to microsoft also meant moving to seattle for the summer...and here comes the only thing i don't like so far: it rains a lot in seattle. i think summer is supposed to be really nice in seattle but, so far, it has been chilly and rainy. however, i like that the city has a LOT of coffee shops (no, i don't mean starbucks, i mean the independent, small ones). the city is also really clean (compared to DC, Baltimore, NY) and there are a LOT of flowers everywhere. the place i like the best is called "Pike Place Market". it has a lot of small shops where you can find anything. this past weekend, there was a festival at Pike Place, and it was full of hippies and raggae-loving folks; it was a very "flower-power" atmosphere.

i hope i can purchase a digital camera soon, so i can post pictures of seattle and of the microsoft campus. by the way, the campus is pretty amazing. the buildings look really nice, on the inside and out. i have not seen any cubicles in any of the microsoft buildings (i hate cubicles). actually, here is my favorite thing about my building: it has a lot of games: mini-golf, mini-basketball, pool, ping-pong, darts. it means a lot to be able to de-stress during your work-day (and no one minds you taking 10 minutes off to clear your mind, while shooting some hoops). the people in my building also have this ping-pong tournament going on. my manager said that, whoever wins the tournament gets to play bill gates (pretty cool, huh?)

speaking of managers, mine is pretty cool. he is really open, and does not mind all my questions. he has given me a lot of useful information so far. i was really confused the first couple of days (i felt like a retard, not knowing what was going on), but he handled my obvious inexperience really well.
actually, everyone on my team is really cool. you don't have to set up special appointments to talk to any of them; you can drop by their office, ask a question, and they are happy to answer. it is a pretty relaxed work environment, but everyone still does their job really well.

ok...so...in the end, i am enjoying my summer so far. i hope it only keeps getting better. i will keep posting cool stuff; i will make it a lot more often from now on, because there are a lot of things going on (and yeah, as i said, my share mood is back).

- btw, that's me in the picture (looking really geeky, i know) and the msft logo. i had to take it and send it to my parents -

thank god for "30 rock" and "the office"

2008-05-18T18:47:00.001-07:00

it's finals time for UMBC...that means I am swamped with work. i am halfway done right now. i have two exams tomorrow, and another one on tuesday.
the only things keeping me from going insane are "30 rock" and "the office". go to nbc.com and you can see online episodes of this season.

anyway, i was glad to see that the Catholic Church recently announced that it recognizes the potential existence of aliens; oh, and they also said this fact does not contradict the teachings of the Bible. all that is left now is for them to admit that gays and lesbians won't burn in hell...let's wait another 100 years for that to happen...

ok, done with my random facts for today. back to studying.

good one

2008-05-06T14:28:00.001-07:00

Would you buy this?

2008-05-03T18:50:00.001-07:00

I would ;-) (too funny)...

10.000 BC

2008-05-02T17:55:00.001-07:00

- cute movie
- really good special effects
- sorta predictable story
- fun to watch on a lazy friday night.

I've been looking for this video for a while

2008-04-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Conference Championships - the resolution

2008-04-28T17:01:00.001-07:00

Our boys lost to Binghamton. The defeat was pretty unexpected (at least for me). The UMBC boys were definitely the better players. Unfortunately, Binghamton had a bunch of not-so-fair-play tricks up their sleeve. From spitting on our players (literally) to faking hand-cramps (has anyone ever heard of a hand-cramp???) the BU people showed their lack of class. Well, in the end it worked, as UMBC did not handle the pressure.
It was one ugly weekend...

Conference Championships - part 2

2008-04-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

So we lost yesterday against Binghamton. It was quite unexpected, I might say. I think that, as a team, we were looking ahead, and thinking about the match against Boston University. Well, Binghamton put up a good fight yesterday, and showed us they could play. Honestly, I still think we have a much better team; it just did not happen for us yesterday...

The guys' team is playing Binghamton in the finals today. I am sure it will be a very stressful match, with wwaaaayyy too much cheering going on the sides of the court. There will be cheating, and there will be dirty tricks. Well, it will all come down to who manages to deal with the crap.

Oh, here are some "funny" facts about yesterday's match:
- my girl took three bathroom breaks in two sets, and tied her shoes a total of 4 times. (that is a LOT of breaks, for a 1.5 hour match)
- joy puked twice (maybe nerves, maybe bad Subway food for lunch).
- chen's girl cheated her a number of....geez, I lost count! It was a lot...
- I made friends with two of the referees, who thought that my saying "dude" all the time was really funny. They both greeted me with "Good morning, dude!" at breakfast today.

Conference Championships

2008-04-25T18:10:00.001-07:00

This weekend, my teammates and I are competing in the America East Championships. Our biggest "enemy": Boston University (they've been winning this for 14 years or so).

If is funny going to the AECs. It is funny to see girls mean-mug each other, just because they are on opposing teams. During regular season, some girls can actually be nice. However, once conference championships start, it is a whole new attitude; "competitiveness on steroids" - that's what I call it. I feel pretty bad for the girls who get into this attitude. They simply fail to enjoy their matches, and it seems that all they can see in front of their eyes is a tacky champ ring (yeah, they give you rings if you win your conference).

Anyway, I have a tough match tomorrow, against one of the mean-mug girls I mentioned. Oh, yeah, we are actually playing Binghamton University tomorrow. If we win, we will have to face Boston University. I will keep you guys posted on what happens. :-) Go Dawgs :P

I felt the need for a funny post: Zen Sarcasm

2008-04-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not
walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either.
Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken
fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. It's alway s darkest before the dawn. So if you're
going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced,
you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try
missing a couple of your car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile
in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away
and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach
him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person
again, it was probably worth it.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it
in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side
and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women.
Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when
your lips are moving.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just
after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping
pill and a laxative on the same night

Romanians really like time off

2008-04-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

So I was talking to Laura, my friend from Romania today. I was complaining about my lack of free time, and about the fact that I will not get much rest for the next 5 weeks.

Well...Laura told me she is going to have a lot of days off in the next two months. First, everyone in Romania gets off work on Easter. This year, Greek Orthodox Easter is on April 27 or so. Usually, people get at least 2 days off for this. Then, everyone is free on May 1st: this is Romanian Labor Day. Since the two holidays are so close to each other, people will have off from April 25 to May 2nd (or at least that's what Laura told me).

As if they were not getting enough days off, authorities have decided to make Men's Day official. Until now, only women had an official day, on March 8th (Women's/Mother's Day). Apparently, the male population in Romania felt discriminated against, so they decided to have their own holiday. Therefore, from now on, May 5th is Men's National Day, and everyone gets off work.

Why did I leave Europe and Romania, again?

squeaky invasion

2008-04-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

I liked Leona Lewis when I first heard her. Okay, cheesy song, but her voice was pretty amazing.

Leona has taken over every single media in the US: radio, TV, internet....you name it. Along with her overexposure, came an army of squeaky heartbroken girls, trying to imitate the chorus of "Bleeding Love" ("kEEEEEEp bleeding, IIIII kEEEEEEP bleeding...."). The squeaking was funny when Alice, my roommate, first did it. Afterwards, any trace of humor disappeared.

Now, I am just hoping Leona comes up with another hit song that will not require so much effort from the girls trying to imitate her. Something simple, "linear", that can be mumbled without reaching higher octaves.

Just how far can mediocrity go?

2008-04-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

If money actually made people smarter, this guy would leave the music industry; he would probably realize he lacks any musical talent whatsoever. Unfortunately, money doesn't increase the activity of one's neurons. It only increases one's appetite for bad jewelry and raunchy videos.

i actuallly believed it....guess i am in the same "hypocritical sheep" category

2008-04-07T20:37:00.001-07:00

I took this from a blog. Basically, a few weeks ago, I got one of those mass-emails from one of my friends, about this insane artist starving a dog at one of his exhibitions. The e-mail sounded really convincing, and there were pictures to prove the authenticity. If you guys google "starving dog art gallery" you will find those pictures as well.

Anyway, when I read the e-mail and saw the pictures I thought "oh, what kind of a crazy, cruel person would do that?!" To my shame, here's the truth about the whole situation (taken from another blog of a friend):

"The story of a dog being starved to death as part of an art exhibition appears to have been falsely reported by Costa Rican newspaper The Nation, according to new sources. I reported the appalling story here last week among global outrage about the exhibit and a reported invitation to repeat the work elsewhere.

It has now emerged, however, that artist Guillermo Habacuc Vargas intended the work to be a stunt to show how a starving dog suddenly becomes the centre of attention when it is in a gallery, but not when it is on the street. The work was intended to expose people for what they really are - "hyprocritical sheep". He said that in order for the work to be valid, he and the gallery had to give the impression that the dog was genuinely starving to death and that it died.

Juanita Bermúdez, director of the Codex Gallery, stated that he would not have allowed the dog to be mistreated, that it ate and drank regularly, and that it was allowed to escape back to the streets from where it was taken at the end of the exhibit. "It is conceptual art and a work that leaves a social message", he said.

The stunt provoked massive outrage on a global scale, and over a million people have signed an online petition to try and prevent another dog being starved to death in a repeat of the exhibit. Unconfirmed reports say that the artist even received death threats and, judging by the vehement anger I've seen in response to this story, that would not suprise me.

The strange thing is perhaps how you react knowing now that this was a hoax. I suspect, like me, you still feel angry, perhaps that it's sick, and that your initial reaction was totally justified. But though I may not agree with his shocking methods whatsoever, I have to admire Guillermo Habacuc Vargas' ability to inspire such a reaction and, in that sense, didn't he achieve what he set out to do? Whether it qualifies as 'art', conceptual or not, is a totally different matter..."

Need for brainlessness

2008-04-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

These days I have been studying like crazy. I have a LOT of exams, projects, and I am the peak of the tennis season. Life is hard. Therefore, I have promised myself that, once everything is done, I will take one day off. I will simply be completely retarded for one day. I may spend all my time off in a mall. Is there a better place to be completely brainless? I will just let myself be guided by all the flashy adds and friendly/desperate sales clerks. Gosh, I may even go to Victoria's Secret and buy the most pink thing I can find (hmmm...maybe I will get one of those creepy stuffed pink dogs; have you noticed they have no eyes?). Then, I will eat a HUGE, diabetes-causing Cold Stone ice cream. To top it all off, I will also go out to Fishbowl and enjoy the bad lights, bad music, and non-sober company. It will be a day of complete brain inactivity.

This is for my Romanian people... :P

2008-04-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

OK, aici chiar au nimerit-o Cassa Locco. Becalizare placuta :P

2008-04-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

this is waaay too funny

2008-03-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Please watch this. It cracks me up. I came across this video last night, during a break from my java project.

Yup, airport security...

2008-03-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

I find airport security funny. Yeah, funny, as in ironic, useless, and totally besides the point.

Every time I leave the US to go to Europe, I somehow "randomly" get selected for extra screening. I don't know how many of you have gone through this, but they actually put you in this funny-looking cabin, spray some stuff on you, and check for explosives. If they do not put you in the funny-cabin, they will search your backpack and ask stupid questions. Well, I see this as a clear sign of acute xenophobia: all the "randomly" selected people are FOREIGNERS. I have never seen a "random" American in the spray-cabin. Also, it is funny how I have already been selected at least 3 times for "random" extra security checking. Now...I am a computer science major; I know how randomizing tools work. And I know it is pretty unlikely that I could be "randomly" selected soo many times in a row. (Maybe I should play the lottery, since I am so lucky).

Anyway, besides the obvious discomfort airport security causes to everyone... do people seriously think that having everyone's backpacks searched through is improving their security on the plane or in the airport? I mean....if you really wanted to hurt a lot of people, it would really not be that hard. You can find knives/forks on a plane; you can use them to kill someone. Also, you can find all the ingredients for a good explosive in the airport (remember Fight Club, and the orange-juice explosives?) . Why are people willing to give up comfort and freedom for the mere illusion of security? ... Now, THAT is a good question for a sociology researcher.

Anyway...here's a clip from Carlin again...to further assert my point.

Carlin

2008-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

As God becomes more and more of a marketing tool, it's good to have someone like George Carlin around. He gives a slap in the face to all those who dare to use God as an argument for their mediocre ideas and choices.

Congrats, Dawgs!

2008-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

My school's Bball team just won the conference final. Therefore, they are going to the NCAA's. It is the first time this happens to my school. There will be HUGE monetary benefits and, above all, national recognition for our small school that is always in the shadow of U.M. College Park (The Terps).

As an athlete, I know how hard it is to win conference championships. I also know how difficult it is to be a good student AND a high-performing athlete. That is why I am really happy for our Bball guys, and for the recognition they are going to get. March Madness will also hit UMBC this year.

My newest research interest

2008-03-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

I have been involved in research with the Social Computing lab at my university for almost two years now. It's been pretty rewarding so far, and it has definitely taught me a lot about how IT really functions in the real world.

Recently, my professor asked this question: "How come people are willing to post compromising information on social networking websites, when they KNOW that the internet is not safe?" The question really made me think of the paradox in how people behave online and offline. Think about it: would you brag to your supervisor at work about how wasted you were two nights ago? Well, I don't think any normal person would do that. However, some of you WILL post a picture of you wasted on Facebook/MySpace/whatever. That picture will be viewed by everyone in your friend list...which is usually comprised of tens-hundreds of people. That means the picture has a HUGE chance of being leaked-out of your circle-of-trust.

Somehow, compromising information gets out there really easily. If someone really wants to destroy your career, it can happen; it is just a few Facebook-clicks away. Knowing that fact, people still go ahead an post really risky stuff.

Well, my newest research project is trying to somehow explain the discrepancy between online and offline behavior. Right now, I find the subject fascinating, and I hope the people who review my funding proposal will think the same.

The New Nightwish

2008-03-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

The first video is from when Tarja was the lead singer for Nightwish. The second one features their new lead singer, Annette (I hope I spelled it right). Well, many people have complained that Annette is bringing too much of a pop-ish sound to Nightwish. Personally, I do not believe that. The Nightwish sound is still the same. What they lost was the special tone of Tarja's voice. Annette sounds plain, like any other singer in a rock band.

One of the things I miss the most

2008-03-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

...is Martisor - my favorite Romanian tradition. Martisor goes on from March 1st to March 8th. Well, March 8th is also Women's Day.

This tradition is all about women and girls; they are supposed to receive flowers or small presents from the men/boys around them. In a more profound sense, the whole tradition is about Life and Love and the revival of the earth, once Spring comes. Since the entire symbolism of the earth revolves around the concept of femininity, women are celebrated (for more information, google "Geea - goddess of the earth").

To symbolize Life and Love, every present women receive during March1-March8 is tied with a red-and-white thread. Some women wear that thread around their wrist or around pieces of jewelery for the entire month of March.

I miss receiving flowers from the guys around me. I miss the red roses my father would always give me. Most of all, I miss walking down the street and seeing women really enjoying an entire week dedicated to themselves; they really feel special...

Definitions of capitalism - for econ majors

2008-02-25T06:05:00.001-08:00

1) Traditional capitalism:

- You have 2 cows.
- You sell one and buy an ox.
- Cow + ox mate => cubs; your economy if flourishing.
- Sell your cows, make a lot of money, and retire.

2) American Company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You sell one, and you expect the remaining one to give you the milk of 4 cows.
- You are surprised when your cow dies.

3) French company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You go on strike cause you want to have 3.

4) Japanese company:

- You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them, so that they are 10 times as small, and make 20 times more milk than a normal cow.
- You create intelligent animated images of the cows, and you call them CowKemons. You promote these on a global scale and make a lot of money.

5) German company:

- You have 2 cows. You re-engineer them so that they live 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

6) British company:

- You have 2 cows.
- They are both mad.

7) Italian company:

- You have 2 cows, but you have no idea where they are.
- You go to lunch break.

8) Russian company:

- You have 2 cows.
- You count them and realize they are actually 5.
- You count them again and find out you actually have 42 cows.
- You count them again and realize you actually have 12 cows.
- Blah, you stop counting, and open up another bottle of vodka.

Best Quotes Ever

2008-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Someone sent me these quotes. They are hilarious:

1) Dance = vertical frustration of a horizontal lust.

2) Diplomat = someone who tells you to go to hell in a way that makes you start your day off on a good note.

3) Team work = the opportunity to blame others.

4) Boy Scout = a kid dressed like an idiot taking orders from an idiot dressed like a kid.

Les Miserables

2008-02-20T13:22:00.001-08:00

This post is for all those who are suffering from the flu right now. I have been sick for the past three days or so; trust me, it is the worst thing ever. I haven't been able to do anything. Laying around doing nothing was fine for the first 6 hours or so. Then it got completely annoying.
Here is a song from Romania. It makes my headache and bad mood go away right now. Enjoy!

Salmon Dance :D

2008-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

Love this song. It is original and funny. Clubs in Europe love it ;-)

Just one thing about this blog

2008-02-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

I once heard in my literature class that grammar and correctness are tools to keep writing professors employed. This statement actually came from one of the most important Realist writers in Romania.

Here's my philosophy: grammar and correctness really don't matter in a blog, or in any writing that is supposed to simply explore the personality of the writer. Grammar and correctness would only limit the expressiveness of the text. The more freedom in the use of 'formal' tools (nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc), the more interesting the connotations.

So here's the deal. Since I want to give readers the full experience of enjoying my writing, I will NOT care about spelling, grammar and all that stuff. For the sake of readability, I will use capital letters in my sentences. And that's it.

;-) enjoy!

My Kinder Egg

2008-02-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

It's funny how the tiniest things in life can really make me happy.

Yesterday I opened a Kinder Egg. For those of you who don't know, Kinder Eggs are made of chocolate and they contain a tiny surprise-toy. You never know what awaits you inside that egg. You just know that, after you are done with that tasty milk-chocolate, the excitement still continues, because you need to find out what the surprise is.

My Kinder Egg had this tiny soccer-game, 1-by-2 inches. It had a small sphere on the inside, and you were supposed to score while avoiding some obstacles. It took me an entire half hour to figure out how to score. I was EXTATIC when I finally made it.

I wish I had a Kinder Egg every day. I wish I was able to enjoy tiny surprises like this all the time. Unfortunately, most day-to-day surprises don't come in a milk-chocolate wrapping. They are also not fun to uncover and figure out...but...I guess they are the ones responsible for making the other surprises really sweet ...

Leona Lewis - How the Corporate Music Industry Can Really Tamper with Talent

2008-02-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sF84pIhP5UM = UK version
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5-ctIC65PV0&feature=user = US version

I recently went back to Europe/Romania for my winter break. While there, I discovered the amazing voice of Leona Lewis - the winner of X-Factor (well, a sort of American Idol for the UK).

Unfortunately, Leona's talent has also been noticed by the execs of the major label she has signed with. The result: a Beyonce-like image (well, we know who she is trying to compete against), and a fine-tuned marketing strategy for Europe and the US. The recipe for Europe: a LOT of pop. The recipe for the US: a blend with hip-hop and Timbaland-like beats. There are also different videos for the two continents; the common denominator is that they make use of cliches and patterns we have already seen in other music videos (notice, duh, Times Square in the US video).

Seeing Leona's debut makes me think of another singer who fell into the complex machinery of corporate entertainment: Natasha Bedingfield.
This is her now: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-t6iNXgvRXU
This is her some years ago, when she was only known in Europe: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4lFXy5bIiSA

See the difference? Beginning: complex lyrics, interesting video, new concept in the image. Present: boy-meets girl video, unbelievably naive lyrics, pairing up with hip-hop artist (in the fashion of J-Lo and Ja, Gwen and Akon, etc etc).

I really hope Leona does not end up like Natasha. Maybe after her first album she will figure out what she wants as an artist (other than money and celebrity). Until then, here's Bruce Springsteen and "Radio Nowhere": http://youtube.com/watch?v=4xH9GqNsAS0

Why I don't like Valentine's Day.

2008-02-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

I have nothing against Valentine's Day. I think it is great to celebrate love and have a special day for the ones you care about. However, everything that Valentine's Day means is buried somewhere under a MOUNTAIN of pink hearts, 'cute' bears and puppies, and cheesy lines.

Valentine's is even worse for me than Christmas. For the latter, I have to deal with the omnipresence of Santa; the Coca-Cola Santa with his Rudolph and endless cliches about gifts and the North Pole. I take refuge from all these images by spending time with my family and celebrating Christmas in the tradition of my culture.

For Valentine's....ooh! That one is tough! The invasion of hot pink is overwhelming. So is the presence of cheesy Hallmark cards trying to make a profit out of people's sentimental impulse to spend-spend-spend for the ones they love. Oh, and hey, you know what? If you are not into this whole pinkiness, it definitely means you have no Valentine and you are a miserable, lonely person.

Valentine's Day is not about marketing love. It is about looking into the eyes of the person you care about and telling him/her how you feel. It is about being honest and open, not about hiding behind pink stuffed toys and punch-lines on cards.

2008-02-10T18:54:00.002-08:00

Today...how I've changed in three years

2008-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Today I visited my old high school in Constantza. I had not seen my professors in about three years, ever since I left for college in the US. I guess I was expecting them to act surprised, and to say I had changed. However, their reactions still surprised me.

Everyone was really pleased and really excited to see me again; even those professors I had not quite liked (and the feeling was mutual) during my high school days. Initially, I intended to spend no more than 30 minutes or so in the high school. I ended up staying there for about three hours. Not only were my professors really curious to know more about what I am doing, but they took me to class so I could give presentations to the 'younger generation'.

I did not go to my old high school because I was missing it. Indeed, I only missed 2 of my former professors, but that is it. I think I went there to confirm one fact: that leaving for the US by myself to study was the right thing to do. And, the confirmation did happen; I don't think my professors would have been this interested in my activities, and this amazed by my achievements, if I had stayed 'home' to study.

First Entry

2008-01-16T12:56:00.001-08:00

Since this is my first entry on this blog, I decided to make it special. I needed to post something that can set the mood. Therefore, my dear reader, I give you Mika and "Grace Kelly", one of the songs that really brighten up someone's day.