goodbye, my catless gwantser

a friend, former boss and one of the people who taught me so many things has gone for good, today...

he used to give me book reading and music listening tips, he was one of the few who told me Keep walking when life sucked and especially when it was beautiful.

we had jokes only the two of us would understand...

Rest in peace, Dan Goanta, I will miss our late night conversations, your stories with Tractoras- the fugitive cat, the thesis on how important it is to have tails like cats do, my Friday laughing when reading your articles in Dilema ...

Zametrasgibico ( You know)

on mugs and their effects

lost are the times when you could find in people's homes only china cups, all in a 6 or 12 set, not dozens off different kind of mugs, all coloured, with a message, your name, a touristic destination, animal prints or sculptures on it
but so bright are the mornings when you admire your mug while sipping your tea or coffee...




my latest aquisition is not only a delight for my eyes,
but a commitment to have a healthy breakfast
( break the fast, aka don't skip that meal, in the morning!!!)
here it is: blackcurrants, strawberries, oatflakes
and goat yoghurt...again!

what does your mug do to you?

shoe day!

OK, autumn is here, in the mood for shoe shopping even if I really don't need to add new ones to my huge collection...except for some flexy boots I am dreaming of but didn't find elsewwhere but at Campers .
besides that, I have to tell you the ankle boots are back!
I remember the '80s, where you could find only rubbish in Romanian shoe shops...this kind of boots you could see only in the magazines brought by friends who had the opportunity to travel outside the country...those precious magazines that were OK even if they were 5-10 old already:))) I used to play with my cousin a game called: "what would you buy if you could from this page?"and, unfortunately, we could have only one choice:( for a page

I still got some white ankle boots that I remembered the moment I saw this pair of Pennly-loves-Kenny on Zappos. ( not that they deliver in Ro)
I could only remember my mother accidentally ruined those boots by washing their interior and drying them near the stove:( anyway, they did their duty as served me for more than 3 years...
I only think of those times whenever I buy a new pair...how then u could cross a year with only one pair of sandals, one of shoes and some boots...and it wasn't poverty...but those Romanian times with grey clothes and shoes, when having bright coloured stuff was such a wonder...

Such a wonder that I cried, when I was ten, when I got some navy shoes instead of those turquoise mummy ordered at a shoe factory in Agnita that was working in lohn for I don't know whom...and I cried that hard that finally I got the turqoise pair too, and I was the happiest girl in the neighbourhood...

flexy boots I found on the web are these Esprits, those Tsubos, those Keen Londons and those Paladium Invasions, but I'm still considering ...loving those Keens( 2nd row, left), though

and what's in a name?

don't know what their reasoning is, but the answer to what is my French name is extreeeeeemely different from Monique...

check yourselves!

Your French Name is:

Fantine Dubreuil

What's" Your French Name?

what's in a year?

OK, 365 days and so many reasons to thank God for a wonderful life...

dozens of reasons to be happy, to look back with anger or just the distance from nothing to a sun ray, a smile coming from a blue eyed kiddo...

Prince Andrew is one year old now...a candle on a nice cake, a party with people who consider the cutie-cute baby the apple of their eyes and nice memories added day by day...

special dedication: Velvet Underground: Pale blue eyes

and finally...

since there's always a good moment to stop an obsession... with something one of your readers sent. SO: there's a no no, in Denmark, for toilets and a definitely yes!

now I remember the best toilet I've ever been into, in London, at the Cinnamon Club, the 2003 New Year's Eve..

A smiling girl waited for me to wash my hands and handled a warm towel, then the hand cream..I said no, though, to the fragrances she showed me, in case I wanted to refresh myself... they didn't have my perfume then.

V for Vincent

Well, my Vincent Delerm obsession goes on.
It all started in an insomnia night. While zapping, I bumped into him, a concert broadcasted on M6
I fell asleep without knowing who he was...so the next day I was typing "Fanny Ardant et moi" on Google until I found out his name...searched for the pic and matched: Vincent Delerm!

his songs are so funny and so are his clips I found on Youtube. Do try and don't be shy to enjoy and tap on the table! just click or read below!

On écoute du chant grégorien
Elle parle à peine et moi je dis rien
On a une relation comme ça
Fanny Ardant et moi
......
Elle est posée sur l’étagère
Entre un bouquin d’Eric Holder
Un chandelier blanc Ikea
Et une carte postale de Maria

Elle est toujours toute noire et blanche
Elle ne dit plus Vivement Dimanche
Depuis que je la traîne chez mes parents
Tous les week-ends Fanny Ardant
.....

Il y a un truc dans son regard
Qui me reproche de rentrer trop tard
Elle voudrait que je sois là tout le temps
Evidemment Fanny Ardant
.......
Notice I am not saying a word on his look, OK?
picture found here

somebody stop me!

I have this thing with toilets, today... jumping from link to link, I found myself in the Toilet Museum. No it's not a place where you could find pictures or reliques of antiques toilets, but a place with meaningless pictures of plain, ordinary toilets.

of course it's not a museum, since it doesn't follow any museum rule...more like a gallery of disgusting loooooooos...this is the moment I am happy you cannot send smell via internet...

pic found in the museum. Yes those are Jude Law and Ewan McGregor...Like my friend's mother used to tell her whenever she came home in love: they all pee and poo, don't climb them on a pedestal!

send away autumn!

I've warned you fall arrived weeks ago...

the only solution if you don't want to fall into a deep melancholy barrel is to bring into your life things that don't have anything in common with this rainy and cold season...

such my nice September evening view over the kitchen sink...washing strawberries...

POLITENESS EVERYWHERE

You must have thought about me I could be mental...with all my obsessions...
but when it comes to politeness...arghhh..better not talk

well, I bumped into the International Center for Bathroom Etiquette while I was saaaaaaaaailing, and realised I know nothing! Nothing at all!

The site is the place to get help when having trouble observing proper bathroom behaviour since their mission is to educate everyone on proper conduct in the bathroom, and in so doing the bathroom experience more enjoyable for everyone, end of quote

Everything is noted there, as you will see if curiosity leads you there, and not to the loooo: talking into that room, toilet paper hanging, which sink to use, what if you have to pee Really Badly( OMG, don't remind me of my waiting in almost an hour line at the Musee du Louvre Toilet!, or the rallys I took every day in Barcelona to find The place)

of course they sell something, didn't create a web site only to talk about something we might talk every day. Not that we needed all those stuff...but come on! I just couldn't resist spending those minutes in this Center.( wow, the address ends in .org, means they are serious, aren't they?)

pic took from the site

drink the champagne and pack your suitcase!

so, it's setteled: starting with 1.1.2007 Romania belongs to the EU

take out the byzantine festivism: drink the champagne, hold the speeches and laugh at the masses...for they will pull the plough..

I am packing...those people sneaking grapes at the hypermarket are not european!nor are those who broke my car window, during the night... nor more others...

yak!

I CAN'T STAND THEM!

greedy people at the hypermarche, picking from every grape they find...of course, they don't pay for what they eat, what are they, fools?

how much do you save, people? how about a small hepatitis, for everything you eat without washing before?
what a real European attitude!( turkish delight!~ bazaaaaaaaaar!) can't wait that 16 o'clock for the country report...

that's my day!

well, thanks to Subiectiv, my day is not that cloudy as you can all see, if you look through the window...

I found on his blog a link to blogmusik, I logged in...and there HE was, waiting for me, with Fanny Ardant, Anita Petersen and all his songs...

Ai...VINCENT DELERM, comment se dit "goosebumps" en francais?

photo trouve ici

I'm going to die:(((((((((((((((

and I simply quote..being to lazy to comment more than I did in the title...
"Extreme laziness may have a medical basis, say a group of high profile Australian scientists, describing a new condition called motivational deficiency disorder (MoDeD). The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the
motivation to breathe."

British Medical Journal via Evenimentul Zilei

well, lucky me, in the end of the article I found something more optimistic: "common laziness is not a disease. People have an absolute right to just sit there.”

this could be my salvation...where to find a test or something to realise how lazy I am?

how lazy is somebody who came back from a trip the 11th of September( 2006, though, not the terrible 2001) and the suitcase is still in the middle of her dorm?

full article here

drawing found here ( never read the series, but now I'm interested:) )

could that work, in Romania?

found out on the BBC web page that some Eastern European countries introduced or will introduce language lessons* for bus passangers in the capital cities..

In Lituania, for example, on some routes you can already listen to English or Polish lessons

The passangers get some work papers they have to complete and during their journey they can hear in the bus speakers useful phrases in the language they plan to learn...

More than that, those who are really eager to learn and test their knowledge, give the papers back to the driver, and the best of them get a free language course..The project is financed by the European Commision..

I can hardly wait to leave my car in the parking place and take the 41 tram, to hear people say:

GOOD MORNING!
I DON'T HAVE A TICKET.
WHY THE...BEEP...DON'T YOU ASK THAT GUY ABOUT THE TICKET?
GO TO...BEEP... and so on

Meaning useful phrases for a journey in the Bucharest public transport!

_____________
*only the languages spoken in the EU countries

picture found here

been to the mall #2

let me put things straight:

1. I hate malls...the idea of entering a grand grand place where to spend money is so...so...I don't know how to call it... not me, anyway!

2. I like small shops and boutiques and the idea of searching for something cute

3. been to the Mall, yet...bought some things for my soul,,, the kind of " nothings" aka things you can live without, but so cute, nice smelling, or whatever...that you definitely need to take home : two books, a lipstick, a bath foam, a nice pen, a tea mug+coaster

4. NEVER LET A WOMAN ( WITH FEVER AND MONEY) ENTER A MALL!!!

5. I know why " je me suis regalee": today my blog guests number reached 1.000

been to the mall #1

TU TAMBÉ POTS AJUDAR

I cannot learn Catalan unless 9 other students join the course organized by the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest.

TU TAMBÉ POTS AJUDAR- means you can help, too :) pronounced almost like the Romanian: " si tu poti ajuta"

what to do, what to do?

today edit: after some hints spreaded in my constant mails to the Cervantes Institute, I got today a mail saying : some courses can be, still, organised, without a compulsory number of students...and the cost is not 140 Euros, as I first thought, but 102:)

nice beginning for this week!

banner found here

brunch

I woke up at 11

I slammed the fridge door for a dozen of times

I wasn't hungry

Doc told me to eat 5 times a day

panick: what to eat?

Finally chose these blueberries...

can I call it brunch? meaning wouldn't have to eat later too?

OK, I chose my bathroom sink

of course that will require a Demon in the Dark LUSH green soap...or have to look for something greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeener

benefits of living on your own #5

U don't have to share the bed with somebody else! nobody steals you blanket, to say it frankly! yeah!

plus all those things mentioned in an article I found in the IHT today..

just go here see what they say about sharing a bed:)

I know those benefits I write about might link to egocentrism...but why not enjoy instead of complaining?

picture found here

benefits of living on your own #1, #2, #3, #4

ChocoMemories

tough job...but since they established today it's Chocolate Day here are some memories linked to chocolate in all those 30 yrs I spent on Earth ..it's not a TOP!
1. birthdays parties always included chocolate cakes, didn't matter how old I was...of course I couldn't eat...but if a brother forces you, can you do anything?!
2. When I was 2 or 3 years old, if mummy offered chocolate all I asked was: " is it Chinese?" "Why, Monica?" " Because it's so creamy!" meaning something better than the crappy Romanian chocolate we could buy back then, in those communist times... there were those little bars, with nice wrappers, with fishes or China landscapes

3.Since if you didn't have any relatives abroad or at least somebody you knew as a shop assistant to get some chocolate, chocolate made at home was the solution( for those who could get some cocoa, sugar, butter and powdered milk, almost all rationalised)...Mummy used to spoil us with al kind of mixtures...all yummy! tough job to search through the house where she's hidden the chocolate tray, though:)

4. a bag of hot chocolate powder mummy got from an aquaintance who came from Vienna..and we got a cup from time to time...not very often...I think that bag lasted for at least a year...

5. Chocolate bars granny got from her friends established in Germany or Austria

6. Hungarian chocolate that you could find, from time to time, before 1989 in Romania...as Maci csokoládé...or Africana ( if you knew somebody in a shop, of course)
7. a Duplo little chocolate my mother's friend brought from Germany ( I still have that wrapper in a book, somewhere at home...and like any kid in Romania those time, I also had a chocolate wrapper collection...the pic I found on the internet, thanks to drage demon)
8. First Nutella on bread, that I ate in my friend Ioana's house

9. Some greek Melissa chocolate( red wrapper with some beeeees on it) a girl offered me at the math olympics..that girl is one of my few best friends, now : Cristina, from Paris

10. Terrible hot chocolate made from powder in fancy places that didn't admit that...flavoured...yak!

11. a tiny chocolate I got with my expresso at Cafe de Fleur, in Paris...near Cristina's studio, on Boulevard de Saint Germain...I still have it!

12. a Ritter chocolate transport( a kilo, maybe!!!) I got from an ex that wanted to reconquer me ... I loved the white chocolate with rice and nuts!

13.dozens of fancy chocolate boxes from the same guy

14. a chocolate box HE bought from the Harrods pretending it was for his mother AND IT WASN'T his mother, but another woman!

15. nice hugs and kisses Hersheys ( cutest bonbons I ever saw!) I got from the smartest guy I ever met .

16. good home made chocolate bars ( 5.000 ROL a piece= 0.7 Euro) I could buy at the gate, when I went to job...after 1 year I wasn't allowed to have some...

17. real tasty hot chocolate( classic or Maya= spicy) at Chocolat, last week

18. Chocolate that isn't chocolate, made from carob beans, the only that I am allowed to eat, in fact..for this is my biggest sorrow: I am a chocomaniac who shouldn't eat chocolate...for the moment, I hope...

what are your chocolate memories


More on Choco, Chocomania and Chocofashion #1, #2, #3. #4

September 23rd..what a day and I didn't know!

OK, it's the Autumnal Equinox today, as in : it's official now it can be raining all day long and be dark and cold..

but more than that, I found out from a newsletter I don't know why I get from 123greetings, that I could add this day with scarlett letters on my agenda! And I quote: Is anything more beautiful than thick, dark, creamy chocolate sauce on a snow-white vanilla scoop? Well, if ya got a sweet tooth and find chocolate irresistible, then you'd love Chocolate Day!

Indeed it's a big day, for a chocomaniac as I am!

e-card found here
More on Choco, Chocomania and Chocofashion #1, #2, #3

bad day

i am sick...have fever...send any compassion messages u can...but better some lemons and ginger...Honey i have...

sadly and sickly me

enough with talking!

so, I know little about blogging but I am glad to find out it's about time to DO SOMETHING talked to Clitemnestra and her friends, they have an IDEA and we have a plan...we still have to figure out a lot of details, but the thing is WE we'll need your help, at some point...

I'll keep you posted, of course...

on the other hand, reading Catastif I found out about his project, totally different, but the one I will gladly join, lucky me I have time... imagine that: a forest of consciences! he got the idea reading and reading Dropping knowledge and Ecotonoha...well I'll keep you posted!
ha ha, he talks about planting ideas and, therefore, trees, while I tell you to pick flowers/ fleurs...

Happy B, D!

Happy Birthday, Dana!

If you look at this cutey Manga girl, you will be able to recognize Dana, my friend...

It's her birthday, today, and my opportunity to wish her all the best! All, not a third, not a half, not 99%!

Me, myself and Monica!

>:D<



image chopped from a Manga series, Mr. the author, please don't kill me I forgot where exactly I took it from!

my wishlist is bigger and bigger

Since I can't sleep

Let's start from Z to A

a phone...a proper one that doesn't switch off whenever it wants ( thank's God, mine is 4 yrs old and works with the same Japanese accu...but : has a scar on it's shield...a missing button( the off, maybe it's a sign) the hands free device is rotten so don't call me when I drive( but how would you know when to call?)

nice boots from Camper...the Twin division...45895-001 the one that makes you think you wear two shoes of two different types... to quote: They are twins. Not equal but complementary. The pair concept never made more sense.

Nina from Nina Ricci...though I have at least 5 fragrance bottles that I need to empty, since perfume is not like wine, to become better as time goes by

funds for my next year trip to France, since Cristina, one of my best friends is getting married and I need to be there( don't even dare to believe I will wear one of those pink dresses the bride's friends wear:) ! )

funds for my 2008 trip to Tibet, I don't know yet if it will be a one way ticket or not...let time decide

dreaming girl found here

day a la francaise

so today I was in my French mood...

I dressed navy and went to Chocolat, a place a finally discovered on Sunday..

I had a huge and not so healthy breakfast, to call it so...a tasty croissant, toast& butter& different marmelades( bad, bad, bad!) , a nice classic Chocolat au lait (they say the best in town and, since I cannot compare it to something else I totally agree) and a nice tea (minty and spicy)...not to forget about the Sun rays dessert( bad too...which is Mousse de vanille et framboises)... ( bad= contains sugar or animal fat, am not allowed:(... )

of couse I read a French newspaper and listened to their French music( agreed with Gainsbourg...Serge Gainsbourg, not with '80's France Gall)

agreed with the location, not with the furniture or the cutlery...nor the plates and cups( mine was chipped!!! not to mention it was nasty yellow with brown traces...no, I would have enjoyed real china:))and the napkins? the same yellow as my velcro rollers! that yellow:(( ...why can't they look, a little, to what Cafe de fleur has done, the moment Cafe de fleur has a place even in Japan?

day continued in a french hypermarche, where I bought some grapes and real French frommage

and it's only 4 PM!

je reviendrai!
breakfast pic found here

aujourd'hui

je veux aller de nouveau a Paris, prendre un cafe a Les Deux Magots ou a cote, a Cafe de Fleur, me ballader dans le Marais, manger une crepe aux châtaignes dans la rue, en Montmartre, un coq au vin ( comme j'ai mange au restaurant de Radio France, pas a la cantine!) dans un bistro joli et le soir, le Bar du Marche ( pour un Kir Royal) ou la Rhumerie, apres avoir vu un bon film a l'Odeon ..

il ne me reste que d'aller au Chocolat...

pics and links to pics taken from everywhere on the net, merci a tous!

language censorship...

...please!

today, in a taxi... at some point two nuns in a red Dacia asked the taxi how to get somewhere. The man explained, but managed to spread some HELLs into his speech.

"don't go that way, its' crowded like hell ! "
"why the hell did he tell you that?" ( about another guy who told them to choose a different boulevard
" the hell knows"

is this "taxi language"? what words are proper and what aren't , when you talk to priests, nuns etc?

pic found here

i feel so bad!

i lied a woman that called me( inssurance!!!)...i told her i am leaving the country for good.

i started to feel sorry the moment she made me the best wishes...

i still don't know who gave her my number.... revenge!!!

why I like Spain

because there you can find places where you can admire nature... looking up!

pic taken in Formentera, where Lucia y el sexo was shot

this is for kitty

since I plan to change my plates:)

Irene gave me the idea, she found it here

bring in the food!

the thing, when you're hungry and too lazy to cook something, or you just crave for something, is that you can order online...




and the food comes in less than an hour...

the only problem( mine) is they want cash, or I am the card type...so it takes a little journey to the ATM...

and then: bon appetit....

the fish menu would have been OK, if I knew what a chineeese sauce is, in this case. So I had Seafood Soup, Rice with Decorticated Shrimps, Pike Perch in Chinese Sauce, Batter Fried Frog Legs( removed the battered fried stuff, not healthy, nor tasty) ..ALMOST yummison!

screaaaaaaaaaaaam!!!

You know I love Munch's 'Scream'! Thanks to Irene I had a nice morning...a screamy one...and remember: :O


picture found here

my other Munch story

benefits of living on your own #4

you can sleep as long as you want to, take a bath whenever you want and eat once a day, without feeling iresponssible you dindn't feed HIM.

Romanian politeness

I am, again, more than against the way Romanians believe they deserve to be called europeans... these bucharesters call themselvs metropolitans, but they simply cannot follow rules.. and I am not talking of dispersing garbage wherever they are in the mood for...but simple sign reading...
on the subway escalators you can see two yellow footprints, on the right side, for those who would just stand, and one footprint, on the left, if you are in a hurry, where you can climb faster... why on earth don't they choose a side, only? why are they so stubborn to stand on the left side, happy the stairs are mobile?
what a bad day! and when I think left my car in front of the house with the intention to have a nice Sunday :(

banner found here

benefits of living on your own #3

you cand hold your unpacked suitcase in the middle of your room, even if you came back from your holidays 2 weeks ago

sunday morning wishes

I want to go to a nice coffee/ tea shop, indulge myself with something tasty and read something nice and go on with this dolce farniente for hours and hours

since it is trendy...

1. grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. write down what it says:
'this great and mysterious universal order'

2. stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first?
the window

3. what is the last thing you watched on tv?
a show called " politics, bro!" on Realitatea TV

4. without looking, what time is it?
midnight

5. now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
00.10!

6. with the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
CD player...and Bach

7. when did you last step outside?
2 hrs ago, to the ATM, as I ordered some chinese food and had no cash:(

8. what are you wearing?
PJs!!!

9. when did you last laugh?
this afternoon, at my 5 yrs old nephew's aniversary party

10. seen anything weird lately?
yes...some old ladies who were selling pickles outside my block, cursting a guy who was telling them it's illegal...and what cursts and insults i heard!

11. what did you dream last night?
I didn't sleep last night

12. what's on the walls of the room you're in?
paintings, icons, rosaries

14. what do you think of this survey?
feel like completing a "oracol/ caiet de amintiri" don't know the translation

15. what's the last film you saw?
me, you and everyone i know

16. if you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
health? oops, impossible

17. tell me something about you that I don't know.
I am so, so lazy

19. do you like to dance?
yes! I am the dancing queen!

20. imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Beatrix

21. boy?
Andrew

As taken from Cosmicopia who got it from Lola is Beauty who got it from someone else, who also got it from someone else and so on.

My pedestal is empty, again…

Oriana Fallaci, the famous italian journalist, died, last night…She passed graciouly, the way she lived
I admired her for her interviews she did with Yasser Arafat, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi or the ayatollah Khomeiny.
But more than that, for 'The Rage and the Pride’, a book I never had the opportunity to read entirely, only in the Corriere Della Serra four page article version.

got this pic by mail...couldn't agree more

benefits of living on your own #2

you can spend your day in your PJ's...and I don't mean lacey or silky ones:)fluffy and comfy! or an XXL T- shirt...spotted with all you've eaten during the day...week...

I've never tried cannabis!

LONDON (Reuters) - Fans of hip hop music are likely to have
had more sexual partners in the last five years while many of
those who prefer classical strains will have tried cannabis,
according to a study released on Thursday. Psychologist Adrian
North from the University of Leicester surveyed 2,500 Britons
to find out how their musical tastes related to their
lifestyles and interests
picture found here

house arrest day..self imposed

with this horoscope who wouldn't?

Something big could be occurring close to home today, MONICA. It would be advisable for you to stay indoors, if possible, or certainly not stray too far. Traffic is likely to be gridlock, and the sidewalks crowded with pedestrians anxious for a closer look. Use this self-imposed "house arrest" to do some long-neglected chores around the house. Play some music and have fun while you organize your bookshelves and clear out the clutter from your closets.

well, I've got a pile of books to read and music to listen

picture found here

bijoux

You never know what a kid makes you do...
booties I made myself...aren't my fingers precious?