"Traumatised by my complete lack of trauma"

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When life gives you lemons, you use them for your cuticles. And when things get to stuffy, you go on the lazy man's route. That's what we did last Saturday, when a group of us (and by group I mean a herd and by herd I mean a hell lot of fun and nice people) took our books and our cameras and went reading in the park as part of the Lecturi Urbane movement.

It involved good books, soft grass, (more or less) hushed conversations, a lot of bikes and weather that was on our side even though the clouds had been acting like they had taken a fistful of diuretics for the entire of summer.

Wearing: Kotton dress, Nine West shoes, random silver jewelery.


I spent some of the time making clover headbands and then prancing around with them like the 5 year old that I am.


And spent the rest of the day matching the environment. The green movement, and all that.








The books and Decat o Revista were used in the best way possible ;-)

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Wearing: Zara tee, BSB skirt, silver pendant.

As I mentioned before, I discovered a certain knack for cooking. Unfortunately, the knack comes and goes and when I find something I like I usually just do that for one week. That's how things went last week and I spent every day eating nothing but fluffy American style pancakes with too much maple syrup and a vast array of fruit!

Thank you Martha Stewart, they were very much appreciated.

And what better way to cook a rocking pancake batch than wearing a bedazzled Lady Gaga tee?

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Most days are spent now cramming as much information in my head as possible (just two more exams left!) and most nights are passed in front of a Starbucks latte and avoiding those pesky summer rains. Why yes, I am an old lady deep down inside!

I have also amused myself with Tumblr and random internet memes. It is nice to find out I apparently write like David Foster Wallace. And my old posts resembled Mark Twain. Hmm, upgrade or downgrade? Will be the judge of that once I get my hands on Mister Wallace's books. We are literary twins after all!

Admiring The Boy's watch is also a good way of spending a few quiet minutes :-)

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Song of the Day: Brandon Flowers - Crossfire

"They left a ringing in my ear, but that drum's still beating loud and clear"

When one goes to a concert, one gets to sit on the ground and compare shoes.

As much as I love a lot of things in this world (glitter, Robert Downey Jr's gravity defying hair, those DSquared shoes), I think only a few things match the level of complete ecstatic love I feel a few moments before the first few notes of a concert break through the air.

What is a concert without half-naked rockers doing a mosh-pit? Or without "rock on" hand signs? It's like tornadoes without Dorothy, really.

Maria and I, in our little space on the concrete, waiting for Rammstein to hit the stage.

That's why the last weekend was just what the doctor ordered - and I should know! - and the perfect cure for an exam addled brain. Two days of music, from the always rocking and always powerful Metallica to the only-the-Germans-can-pull-it-off insanity that was Rammstein, with little drops of Slayer and Alice in Chains in between.

The Boy won't let me see the bands, boo ;)

I don't think I ever mentioned this around here but I used to be one of those sulky teenagers, wearing all black and all spikes and all chains, a long-haired emo before emo became cool and before cool became hipster. The sulkiness passed but the music remained forever etched into my brain, to the complete shock of my mother who hoped that with the discovery of pastels and dresses I would also stop, quote-unquote, ruining my ears with that incessant sound.

Metallica! Fire! Good noise!
(photo source: Metropotam)

So of course I was going to be one of the thousands of people at last week's Sonisphere Festival. And of course I was going to be singing along until my vocal chords gave away (I also partly blame the ice-cold beer for that too). Because Metallica showed us that they can still rock a stage like no other, even so many years after first gracing a stage. And because Master of Puppets still sends shivers down my spine like it did the first time I heard it, when I was too young to function. (Dear guys, I forgive you for the "Budapest" mistake, just let it not happen again, mkay?)

Rammstein! Flame throwers! Funny costumes! More good noise!


(photo source: MetalHead.ro)

Because Rammstein reminded me why I stand by my belief that german is the language of anger and energy (I mean that in the best possible way possible) and because they're the only ones that can turn a concert into this over-the-top show. I mean, is this the best entrance or what? They even bought the noteworthy face mounted flamethrowers. Yeah, that is what I call a good, first-rate show.

(I look so very surprised in all of these photos and still have no idea why)

Wearing: Zara blazers; Kotton dress; Musette/Replay booties; a bunch of very random accessories.

And of course at the end of the day, I'm still the girl who goes to a heavy metal festival wearing heels. My excuse is simple: those 10 centimeters are a concert savior when one is surrounded by metal heads who are too tall, who still wear their hair like James Hetfield in the 80s and who are sitting right in front of you so you can't possibly see the stage. True story!

(For any romanian speakers out here interested in a great review, check Vulupe's posts here :)

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(source)

This past week has really been a week of firsts. On Wednesday I was lucky enough to be in the same room with Jacqui Banaszynsk, 1988 Pulitzer prize winner, at her narrative journalism presentation (THANK YOU Decat o Revista!) I didn't know what to expect when I walked into that room and I admit I sat awkwardly for a moment when looking around and seeing mostly journalism students around me.

But then she started talking and I don't know where those 3 hours went. I listened and my brain has been in overdrive since then. I'm still in awe at the strength and conviction that flew with her words and at the end I was left with this need to know more, to say more, to hear more.

Other people have written about this meeting and I don't feel I can add anything without sounding like a little swooning girl (between you and me, that's what I am right now, but shhhh, don't tell her I said so!) so I will leave you with one of her favorite quotes:

"... history is written by those who have hanged the heroes."

And a link to her award winning piece: AIDS in the Heartland. Read it if you want to witness what creating something awesome feels like.

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And, and, and! I'd also like to thank Cristina Bazavan for the invitation to the Tabu Facebook Party yesterday. Besides it being fun, I got to hang around with some really, really, really, really, really stunning girls and be their personal cheerleader, and I also got to meet some smart and dapper people who I hope to see again as soon as possible!

Told you I had a very exciting week ♥

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(My fridge door and fridge magnets are used for something useful ;)

And now back to the drawing board. Or, as they say in my neck of the woods, back to those annoying pharmacology books. The joy.

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Songs of the Day:
Metallica - One; Rammstein - Mein Teil

"Lived and learned from fools and from sages"

I am suffering from author's block, if you will. An annoying, troublesome creative slump. The part of my brain that loved the click of the camera and the tac-tac-tac of a keyboard has fled the coop and is probably drunk in a rundown bar while I'm using my keyboard as dust gatherer. I sometimes feel as if I can hear my brain sloshing around and slowly dripping out through the boredom cracks in my skull.

Does anyone have a cure for the creative equivalent of being down in the dumps? If yes, please write down on post-it and send by carrier pigeon. They'll know where to find me.


On this background, I've been trying to distract myself/entice my neurons with different activities:

♥ my birthday in May (feeling too old in my own skin but still too young at the same time, how is that possible?) . Brought good times and great gifts, so I can't complain too much about getting old.
♥ experiments in the kitchen which did not end in fires, surprisingly, and the realization I can make delicious stuffed peppers and chocolate muffins.
♥ painted Easter eggs with mother and ate abnormal amounts of chocolate that holiday and every other holiday from New Year's until now.
♥ Bike-walked. Not as much as I want, but still. It was fun!
♥ Saw Cluj for the first time and Sinaia for the one billionth time. Remembered why I love road trips and late nights spent in the company of lovely people.
♥ been losing sleep. Dreaming about Zombie Apocalypses and making plans of action for when that time comes (rules include: cardio and shotguns. Thanks Zombieland!)
♥ Watched all of Supernatural. All of 30 Rock (I thought I hated it. It was a shock to realize I actually don't. I call this the power of Tina Fey). And started M.A.S.H. and Doctor Who. Hmmm, I am slowly understanding why I've been losing sleep ...
♥ Tried the wind-swept style. And the Cousin It of Adams Family fame style. Changed hair color with every coloring and ended up slightly amber. I am now sporting what I call "Fake Red Head Who Has No Time to Dye Her Hair and Whose Hairdresser Is On Holiday" style. It works for me!
♥ Girls' night out, of course.
♥ Started taking the whole vegetarian thing very seriously. And the coffee addict thing too.
♥ Also started taking football (yes, football, not soccer, thank you very much!) very seriously
♥ Saw Aerosmith live just 2 days ago. Spent time afterward dreaming of sequined blazers and dancing to Dude Looks Like a Lady as these two things seem to work together. Steven Tyler is one ball of rock-and-roll, crazy energy.

♥ ... O yeah, started exams. Thinking I won't finish them alive, if my pathology book has anything to say about it.


All in all, it has not been a boring time! Fingers crossed for my inspiration and if you need me I'll be off re-enacting the Glee dance scenes and dreaming of future times when school books will be locked in dark places and days will be nothing more than vodka-orange glasses and lazy reading on picnic blankets.

:)

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Song of the Moment: Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son
(Supernatural reference FTW!)

Sex and the City is here. You ready?

(I apologize for every non-romanin speaking reader, I promise something soon for you too!)

Uite cum ma reintorc eu la blogul meu. Si nu singura, ci cu un concurs absolut delicios!

Eu si cu IntreFete.ro ne-am aliat fortele in cadrul campaniei lor si oferim o invitatie pentru doua persoane pentru vizionarea speciala de pe 10 iunie la Multiplex. Tot ce trebuie sa faci este sa lasi un comentariu mic la acest post si poti castiga. Extragerea castigatoarei va avea loc joi dimineata, 10 iunie.

O vizionare impreuna cu un grup de fete stilate, frumoase si rafinate unite prin dragostea lor de Manolos si Cosmopolitans, nimic mai placut nu-i asa? Then what are you waiting for? Lasa un comentariu si ne vedem joia viitoare.

Bafta :)

"Hello, Oompa Loompas of science!"

One good thing about not having an sort of internet (Twitter on my phone does not count, okay?) is that I've been reading quite a lot lately, a pleasure that had been lost between checking e-mails a billion times of day and saving any sort of Sherlock Holmes graphics and Star Trek gifs I can find on Tumblr. Ewan McEwan, I love how you make me drool over your words and Chuck Palahniuk, your brain is a scary yet wonderful place!

Power of concentration, I'm doing it wrong.

I've also managed to run through all the Oscar movies of the year (minus A Single Man because the gods don't want me to bask in the awesomeness that is a Tom Ford/Colin - I love you Mister Darcy - Firth masterpiece) and all the seasons of The Big Bang Theory (Sheldon Cooper, you are insane but I love you).

Surprisingly, my sleeping hours have been slightly chaotic. It's not my fault books get interesting right before bedtime. And it's not my fault they're running Star Trek: The Original Series only at night on tv, I do not have the will to say no to Spock.

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Spare time makes the mind go geekier and geekier apparently and makes me also want to screencap every movie I own. And this post is brought to you just by that!

I watched Nine some time ago and liked it. I didn't love it because it disappointed in certain departments (it lacked cohesiveness and focus, the songs weren't as strong as I was expecting, the characters weren't very into character), because maybe I loved Fellini's 8 1/2 Weeks too much and this "adaptation" just grazed the surface.

But. I am sucker for beautiful images and, like a magpie loves shiny things for their shiny and not their total worth, I fell in love with the visuals of this film. Give me anything resembling Broadway and I melt like a chocolate ice cream in the sun.


Enjoy the beautiful photos and hopefully next time I'll be posting here from my own (my preciousssss....) internet connection and stop stealing it from where I can. Fingers crossed!

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Overture Delle Donne



"Kiss your fevered little brow, Pinch your cheeks till you say ow"
A Call from the Vatican (Penelope Cruz)



"So you little Italian devils, You want to know about love? Saraghina will tell you.
If you want to make a woman happy, you lie on what you’re born with"
Be Italian (Fergie)



"I love the dark handsome guys with their skinny little ties dressing mod looking out of sight
I love to watch them as they cruise with their pointy leather shoes wearing shades in the middle of the nights"
Cinema Italiano (Kate Hudson)



"Now take it right between your thighs, you grabbed for everything, my friend,
but don't you see that in the end there will be nothing left of me?"
Take It All (Marion Cotillard)




Finale

screencaps by me

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Song of the Day:
Florence and the Machine & Dizzy Rascal - You've Got the Love