It's time. It's Christmas time.

Who said you cannot enjoy Christmas if you're far away from home? Of course it's not the same feeling as when you are there, but the ones who are really making the spirit are the people with whom you spend it. And what do you know, I did it! I'm in the spirit. It took me some time, usually at home I'm in the spirit since 1 December, while in Dubai it came a little bit later, that beeing yesterday :D
The plan went wrong in the last 4 days, after buying tickets and having ready a small surprise for my family and friends to appear home on Christmas Eve, one working day on 24 Dec and the imposibility to change that ruined everything. So here I am stuck in Dubai, with 3 tickets that will not be used soon and just the dream of Christmas carolling :|
Instead of that a very nice family brightened my holidays by comming in Dubai and spending Christmas with them, my folks from home calling me and decorating the Christmas tree along with me on Skype (tree e-decorating was quite nice I must say) and my dear friends packing santa's gifts for friends and family again with me on Skype (God bless whoever invented this program) It might sound too much electronic, but when you'r away from home and from the dear ones on these special days of the year, internet is one of the most welcomed inventions :D
In the end it seems Christmas will still be about spending time with the dear ones, having lovely times and foods together and celebrating God's birth, because even doe Santas croud the places and Christmas trees are everywhere, the celebration is not about them.
Merry Christmas to all and may these holly days brighten your thoughts and hearts.

Gold card...

One great thing that I like about this job is that sometimes, but only sometimes, I have quite interesting discussions on the phone with our customers. The last one, a few days back, was with a "gold member", as in a frequent flyer with Emirates, who reached the gold stage with the numbers of miles earned.
I always say that the "gold card is a cold heart", because of the amount of expectations and rudness that some of these kind of customers have, but of course every forest has its exceptions.
After giving me his booking in economy to be upgraded to business with cash (because now I reached the next stage where I am able to change tickets and know how to read aviation fare rules, which suck by the way) he told me he needs to fly to Singapore for 3 days and, what do you know, in first class. Cause according to him, Dubai is that kind of place where if you don't have fancy cars and travel in business or first class, you'r not "good enought". Of course beeing intrigued by the idea, I rejected it saying that it is each persons choice to spend money in such a way, nobody forces you to do so... The guy paused a few seconds and agreed, but still he bought the first class ticket, which was for my good sake of course :))) Besides that his assistant was travelling also, however the guy was "punished" to stay in economy, in a normal chair with a normal screen in front of the eyes, with chicken biryani and fruit, not a flat bed in an own compartment, with lcd wide screen and champagne and caviar as dinner :))
Apparently the customer was not at all boderred by my sincereness and after releasing his card of a few thousand euros, he wanted to know some more about the agent who disagreed him, within the company confidentiality policy of course, do not imagine otherwise :P And here we were after 50 minutes of chit chats, exchange of ideas and book impressions (because what do you know, I started to read here :))) ) happy with the service and with the long talk, the "gold guy" went to have a beer and I went pleased home, happy that I made someone happy that evening.
Gold card...sometimes warm heart :D

Happy nation(s)

Stuck (in a good way) between 2 countries, and what a coincidence, both with the national day in consecutive days, 1st and 2nd of this month. We celebrated 2 times of course, first on 30 Nov, with Arabic goodies and traditional tea and last but not least on 1st Dec, with traditional Romanian food and Romanian colors. If you are wondering, no fireworks, no parades, no music, quite a chill celebration, not as sophisticated as I would have wanted it. And now ... a little bit of history.

1. Romania, a small country on the left hand side of the Black sea, independent from the turkish domination since 1877, completely united in 1918. Official language our own, Romanian, flag colors red, yellow and blue, cleared out from the comunism rules in 1989, when Nicolae Ceausescu was erased from the image. What you can do here, well almost everything cause you find mountains as well as sea. Winter -5 degrees even less, summer 30 degrees even more. Snow and sun, forests and sea (by the way it's not black even doe it's called Black sea, just to be clear :)) ), traditional clothes and delicious foods, welcoming people, kind of corupted ruled but which country isn't :P This is my home country which I miss so much.


2. UAE, in translation United Arab Emirates. Now here there are some interesting things to say, first may it not be confused with Arabia, as in Saudi Arabia, which is a totally different story. UAE became independent in 1971, so 40 years of life were celebrated this year. The "country" is formed out of 7 emirates: Ras al-Khaimah, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Abu Dhabi which is the capital, each with its own ruler-emir and a national president. Official language, Arabic, flag colors red, green, white and black. Well known for the strong Arabic coffee, which I do not like at all, palm tree fruit-the dates, Arabic tea which is good and the long clothes that cover the entire body both the men and women. The culture and people hospitality I cannot write about, cause I did not really meet it, probably because of the interesting fact that there are lexx than 20% of local arab people living in this area, the rest are other world nationalities. Desert and camels all the way, falcons, mosques, tall glass buildings, very less vegetation (a thing that I hate), a beautiful, extremely salty and healthy sea, dry stony mountains. This is my host country.

...in search of ...

What women really want...

I somehow have the impression that I wrote about this a few years back, or maybe the topic was lot discussed here lately. Probably one of the oldest questions ever, what the hell these women always want?
Movies, magazine and newspaper articles, public debates, stand up comedies on this subject when it's all so clear. Why would anyone pay so much attention on a subject that is not at all difficult and not at all as every guy says. That women are not to be understood, or if possible, how do you do that. Well it's not hard at all, considering that she is a human being like any other, and well she might have the same basic and even not so basic need like you have. What do they want?
News flash dear male, nothing special :))) In fact a woman's mood changes according to the things happening around her (which is normal, right?). When she is seeing a romantic movie whe wants to be loved, when she's in the club having some drinks and sees sexy ladies moving like snakes she goes home and feels bitchy like (time for you, dear male, to take advantage :)) ), when she reads culinary magazines she's in the mood of cooking fancy things but when she's tired from work, be sure not to ask for food, but maybe ask her out for a dinner...and so on. When she is alone she wants attention and company, and sometimes when she has to many people around she needs some moments alone (which even men need, isn't it?), time for you guy to back up and let her be. If she had an argue with someone be sure to support her not to acuse any of her ideas or words, which is normal by the way...
So with all above examples a woman's needs change daily, every hour maybe, not even she knows all the time what she wants...so then, how should someone else know, especially if that someone else is a man :)) The best thing for you to do is be there, take it as it is, assist her and she'll be gratefull or ignore her but be sure she will remember that. She'll forgive you but remember always :P
Now don't come over my head, of course there are exceptions when nothing you do will make it better and then the inevitable question rises, "What the f**ck do you want, woman?!?" Those moments are the moments when men go insane thinking that they will never figure out what the opposite sex needs and tent to give up. Well, don't! cause it's not your fault, it's her fault, and she know it, just that she will never admit it :))
So to summarise the idea dear male friends/readers, women do not know what they want, therefore no worries in respect of you knowing that :) Just enjoy and help her do the same, and be sure to thank me after reading this article and iluminating your life :))

Surprises

Few days back, tired of work and bored of staying in Dubai, a bunch of fun people decided to make a trip, somewhere quite close but still out of the "country". This is how we ended up in our neighbour country, Oman. The interesting part of the whole story is that Dibba-Musandam, the place where we've spent our day, is a small part of land and water pertaining to Oman, but surrounded by United Arab Emirates. We only needed to show our passports to enter the place.
4 people and 3 digital maps were enough to get us there in time, without getting lost on the long & many UAE highways.
UAE surprised me in a very pleasant way, with the landscapes and big mountains. After half year of no vegetation and only sand, as I keep writing in every post :)), the road to Dibba took us through some lovely hills, mountains, not all green, but new views for a change. The 2 hours drive was fast at one moment, then became fun on a undefined road where all cars and big trucks were driving however (kind of Indian style :P ) and on the way back scary, on the same "undefined" road all dark with car/truck lights blinding you all the way :| The moment we reached the main highway on the return our hearts came back to the normal rhythm and we managed to enjoy the rest of the evening.
For the first time in my life I saw, live, the amazing underwater life, the one that I always used to admire on national geographic or animal planet. Our cruise included snorkling, so of course being a fish most probably in a past life, I did not got out of the water for at least one hour. The snorkling equipment did not "fit" me at all. I panicked when I started breathing throught that long tube so I went under water just with glasses and a deep breath of air. All the fishies were looking at me curious. Different plants, corals and spiky sea creatures at the bottom of the sea were living quietly in the not too salty water. A memorable picture and experience I must say.
The last surprise of the day happened in Dubai, in the restaurant called Fridays. Funky waiters with funky place decorations, funky food, and at one point, a funky happy birthday song with a small candle cake showing at our table. It is so beautiful when you have dear people around to give you such presents on your birthday, so beautiful that not only the birthday girl was surprised but me too, so surprised that my mouth could not hide a big impressed smyle.
Life? is full of surprises. All you have to do is... believe :)

The story

I miss

Just walking in the mall a few days back, looking around, staring at the places, the people, the colors. And then hundred of chaotic thought came to my mind. I realized that so much time passed since I am here, It's already more than half year and I don't remember when the days went. At home, I always used to say with my mom that the planet must be spinning faster nowadays, cause 24hrs and the months are going so fast...too fast.
Life in an Arab country can be quite hard sometimes, even if the place is so modern and international as Dubai. But even with all these fancy, tall buildings, with this blue skies and clean sea, with the palm trees all the way, with the delicious foods and exotic fruit, with a big company and a reasonable salary, I really miss the Romanian street dogs :D Today in the bus, on the way to work, I realized that I haven't felt a whole on the road since half year, also I haven't felt ground (soil) since my 5 days in India, only sand. No rain for half year, no cold weather, no animals around, no family lunch, no tram rides, no forests, no dear ones. Pfff...to many NO's just in one phrase. Instead of that Indian food, going to the beach in the middle of October, air conditioned in the middle of November and for the middle of December... yet to come :))) The worst part is doe, no real Christmas this year.
And then among the hundred of thoughts, another few thoughts come around, is it all worth it? Is it worth being sometimes so unhappy just to create your way in life for later, for when you are a "grown up"? Or I am already a "grown up"? And then hundred of answers come over. Among them the idea that life is full of sacrifices, sometimes you suffer for some later happiness, sometimes you cry and after that the "sun shines" and you smile back, sometimes you stay away from someone so long, and when you get back to him, it will be much more better.
So at the end of the day, a conclusion: it's worth it, for now, and it can go on, for now. For how long, not yet known. But man, one thing is for sure, I miss you Romania!

Have seen lately

I used to write every week about movies I saw and I loved. Now I became selfish it seems, I keep them only for me :)))
One giving moment is now, when I am about to tell you all how great some "peliculas" can be.
A little princess is an old movie, back from 1995 when I was just about 7-8 years old, with no worries and no back pain :P Good I didn't see this movie then, it wouldn't have felt the same. With a big imagination and tremendous positive attitude, Sara Crewe, the little princess, managed to brighten my day so much that I am keeping this movie for dark days :))) You should try it dear reader, something will sparkle in there, I'm sure :D
The beach I saw before, long ago, but I didn't remember the scenes to come, so I enjoyed it once again a few days back. Leonardo Di Caprio is just amazing, in any role, and the story made me wanna try the Bermuda Triangle :))) Maybe there is a life after that as well.

One evening while talking to my mom, I found about a good movie that was recently played on our National Tv Station in Romania, something called Shopgirl. Life gives you many options, so what do you do then? Take them all? Avoid some of them, and if you do, for what reason? Well this is how I saw this movie, a life of choices, the choice when you can stay down and comply, or the choice when you can stand up and do something for a change, for your change. And more than that...aaaah see for yourself, don't listen to my bullshit :)))
My friend Anca told my this is a crap movie, she didn't like it because all this kind of movies have the exact story line, the exact old boring story, thank God the actors are different every time. Well you can take her opinion of course, but mine is that this movie is a lesson. And in order for us to learn the lessons, they must be repeated, otherwise in some time we forget them. A little bit of heaven from 2011 was the lesson for me, a nice and positive one, reminding that there are worst things than not having enough money to go for a movie at the end pf the month, or that a rude customer didn't get enough food on board and he screws your day on the phone. Never worry, be happy!

Today's evening movie called House of D left me and my friends with a nice taste, making us miss our homes and childhood streets and big green parks. We were also reminded what a good actor Robin Williams is, how to never let go, no matter what and that a complete stranger can be at one down moment... your savior.

And now, the biggest movie of them all, Time To Sleep, the one that is happening every evening after a certain hour, depending on the mood or how did the day go :D Be good you all, and watch movies, they might teach you something new :)

The lost symbol

A little bit weird to write about this, since I am not a "reading" kind of person, but Brown's last book left me speechless again. Since I first got in touch with his "stories", this writer is the only one who kept me waiting impatiently for his next appearance. The last book I read was Digital Fortress, for those who don't really know this man has already 5 books, Angels and demons, Deception point, The DaVinci code and hopefully not last, The lost symbol.
What I always like about this guy and his books is that every (or at least most of them) ritual, organization and other descriptions from his books are real, imagining every time I read it, how much he must have read and documented in order to write such things.
"FACT: In 1991, a document was locked in the safe of the director of the CIA> The document is still there today. Its cryptic text includes references to an ancient portal and unknown location underground. The document also contains the phrase It's buried out there somewhere. *All organizations in this novel exist, including the Freemasons, the Invisible College, the Office of Security, the SMSC, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel are real" (Introduction in "The lost symbol" by Dan Brown)

But one thing made me think a lot of this book while reading it, the main character, the famous Robert Langdon who faced a lot of troubles and mysteries in his "booky" life. If in the DaVinci code he was the master of reading hidden messages and the man who knows it all, his unbelieving thoughts about an old masonic symbol in this last book, made me wonder. Is this guy going down? Of course the tremendous many information about old rituals and historical things about different world organizations was captivating during the entire book. Each page was giving birth to a new idea, so that at the end of a chapter, the solution or continuation would be suspended until another 2 chapters, and so on, making it a thrill to read. Well, that is actually the main thing what I like about Dan Brown, his writing style, and of course the tones of information brought out to the not so intellectual ones :P Especially about Freemasonry in "The lost symbol". So with the hope that I made you at least a little bit curious about the book, enjoy it all, until next time, "cheers mates" :)))

PS: check out the symbols around you. might be amazed

It's all about...

people.
Since I was little I used to see all those movies with best friends, doing everything together and enjoying life until they grow old. I always wanted one for my own :))
And as I grew, I figured it's quite hard to have such a close person, who can accept you all the time, in all the moods, with all the imperfections.
Friends came and went, some stayed, some slowly disappeared, I don't even know if I can call those ones friends. But the ones that stayed made it all worth it.
One of them is Bianca. By the way, let me tell you the story with Bianca.
We met one late summer day, with the purpose to finish an online partnership, between her events website and our organization in which I was working, AIESEC. We had a cup of tea because she was sick and we started talking, but somehow the conversation kept going in another side than the professional one. About her, about me, about what we were doing and how we like it, finally deciding that we will collaborate, but meet again to talk more about the "terms and conditions" of our partnership. And so we met again, and again, and we realized that this might work even better as a friendship, not only as a partnership. So the events kept coming, and we kept meeting and hanging out, until we realized that we became so close friends, and when it was time for me to go, it was harder than imagined...
Now? She is waiting for me, and I am waiting to get back home to see her. In the meanwhile, we are heating up the keyboards on the laptops :)
Well what I am trying to say I guess, is that in the end, it's all about the people that surround you, and with who you live, it's about them making you happy and the other way around. It's about making yourself worthy to occupy a space in this world thanks to your good thought and acts, not thanks to the amount of money that you earn, or the cars that you own, or the jewels that you wear.
Maybe some won't agree with me, but that is fine, cause this is actually making the world such an interesting and diverse place to live in.
As for me, well, I now have the "movie kind" of friends which I always wanted, whom I love and who love me back, the ones that really like and respect me as I am, and guess what, one of them sent me this. How lucky I am, isn't it?

made by Bianca Daniliuc

Google it!

Every little thing out of our reach makes us wanna know about it. So what better way to find out about things than to "google" the information. An expression that all of us used at least one time. Isn't it? But how many of us really know what Google is about? I bet not even half. I didn't knew either, until a few days ago, when in my small Indian vacation, I visited the main Google office in India, Google Hyderabad.
A big building, half covered in glass, in the high tech part of the city. Strict security service at the entry, visitors must give their name, and the employee name who they are visiting. After getting in the building, again security, again filling out names and start wearing a sticker to be easily identified, and then the fun starts.
Google-rs, as they call themselves, are the most happy employees than all I have ever seen. Inside the working area they have everything an employee might desire. Besides the snack areas on each floor, where you can serve tea/coffee, juices, snacks, large halls with relaxing chairs await for them to recreate their brains. Game room with pool, table tennis or table football machine is at the Google-rs discretion, in case of head ackes, take a break, play some pool or tennis, wash the tensions and go back to work. What more could you want. Well wait, cause there is more!
The shower area is as clean as my home bathroom, with clean towels, shower gel and shampoo so you never have to bring anything with you. Of course jobs that require a lot of sitting usually end up with back pains and even worst. Well not at Google, because the employees have their own massage saloon inside the office...how cool is that?
And the best thing of them all is the sleeping area, a room with beds where you can sleep over night in case you had an argue with your wife, or just take your afternoon nap, relax your muscles and brains, and wake up and finish the crazy report that is bugging you since morning :)))
The thing I love the most, and Indians love it as well is the canteen. A biiiiig room full of tables and buffets all around, with all sort of food, for every taste and diet, making you day at work COMPLETE. Did I mention that they have a buffet with sweets and pastry and coffees on one floor, in case you want a sweet taste after 3 hours of work? And did I mention that everything is... FREE?
Now I know you are drooling but get yourself together, put up your cv and throw it to the nearest Google office you find. And start praying :)))
As mush as Emirates is pampering their clients, that much this company is pampering its employees, and guess what, people actually work with all these recreations, and work well...if you know what I mean.
So, Emirates, some new ideas to motivate your employees????