My fabulous job

I started work today with a fly swatter in my hand. You see we have so many flies in the office, it became actually a work hasard to choke on one misfortunate flying dot while talking on the phone.

These are actually the kind of flies that get stuck into your hair, fly up your nose, bump and buzz in your ear, and they seem to lack common sense since they don´t even flinch out of the way of the swatter. So this is why, at the end of the day there usually rest - legs up - about a houndred of these disgusting little creatures, now that's when I decide it has been a productive day!

Another impressive aspect of my workplace is that it stinks like nothing I have ever smelt before. I work with waste, so you´d might guess it stinks like rotting matter, decomposing carcasses and ssuch. Well, you´re close. Have you ever seen a ´can-o-worms'? Interestingly enough, the first thing that entered my mind when I heard the name was 'cup-a-soup', and I immidiately got hungry. But my apetite disappeared within 2 meters of this round box of rotting green matter, as I had realised that it was no more no less than a feeding apparatus for hundreds of worms. And my colleagues would fill it up every day, worms would grow fatter and bigger, the waste browner and smellier, and so on and so forth. I for one, prefer to take my garbage home and dump it in a regular bin where nothing alive is yet there to feast on it!

But by far the most disgusting thing in my office is attitude, more precisely, 'someone's attitude'. Remember 'the bitch' from my previous blog? Well, this would have to be a super bitch...on her period...on the night she got dumped...no, make that haven't got laid in 6 months. That should get close to what I'm trying to describe here.

If this woman had the right to do so, she would take the faxes that I messed up in my hurry of trying to cover the work that she's NOT doing and glue them (or more likely staple them) to my eyes. Every little detail is carefully checked and underlined and brought up when and only when the boss is around. And of course, I probably wouldn't care that much if she didn't do little sleezy things like calling me 'ma belle' or offering me some candy. I'll tell you where I'd like to stick that piece of candy! What is it with this girl? Does she somehow think that with 2 words and a piece of candy she can trick me into being her office elf? I have been called Dobby before, but only as a joke. To my recollection, I never applied for that position.

All in all, when it comes to this girl, I would gladly eat up the entire can-o-worms than spend another day locked up in an office with her...

People are so funny

I have been doing some volunteer work this week for this festival taking place in Besancon - my French hometown, sort of speaking - and I came to realise that when you're a volunteer you can observe people closer and even stare at them and study their behaviour in detail, something I normally wouldn't do. Is it because I know I cannot be fired if I am fascinated with one of the 'boss's' ugliness and can't help showing it? Maybe, but it has occured to me that in any institution/company larger than 6-7 people you'd always get at least one of these caracters:

1) the mongrel
It's that intern that just got here yesterday but thinks he/she knows everything better than anyone.
He keeps telling you on a bossy tone things you explained to him yesterday.
He takes himself very seriously and will always stay 5 minutes longer than you do so that he can take credit for your work.
He comes asking questions about the status of certain actions in progress, just as the boss's mini-me would.

2) the total bitch
She's that assistant that is slightly older than you are and also thinks she knows everything better than anyone.
She looks exhausted from trying too much.
Can't communicate unless she's a total bitch.
Asks you a question then sticks her nose in your clipboard to look for the answer. In her eyes you are nothing but a brainless worm.
In her eyes bosses are gods pouring out golden beams of wisdom through their mouths.
She's a total bitch.

3) the lazy boss
He's supposed to be your boss.
He called you early today and you will have to stay late because he needs your help.
He makes you do stuff while he does nothing. (btw that's good management)
He will be nice to you, because he doesn't want you to suspect anything.
When a bigger boss drops a shitty task, he will instantly look extremely busy and tell you: 'I'm sorry, I'm swamped right now, could you do this for me?'

4) the artist (boss)
He's chubby and looks funny.
Is it me or he's always looking at the ceiling?
He gives away important classified documents to anyone who comes asking for them.
He's moving around the office without a clear purpose.
He's been working in the office for 3 years and still doesn't know anyone's name.
He smells funny.
He has a weird voice, like someone who hasn't spoken in a while.
His function is not clear, no one asks him to do anything and he doesn't seem to do anything at any time.

5) the big face/big gestures (boss)
She's that boss that will tell you to do something of utter importance right away and will change her mind within the next 5 minutes.
She talks loudly and has big hair.
Her name ends in 'y'.
She has a very short memory span. She is very impulsive.
Her clothes yell 'Look at me'. She loves being called a 'boss'/'manager'/'responsible' etc.
Every single sentence that comes out of her mouth starts with 'I'. Asking her to build a sentence that would start with something different could result in your booting out.
She's always accompanied by a total bitch.

6) the hot n' cold (boss)
She's the kind of boss that seems emotionally unstable. One minute she adores you the next you're her worst ennemy.
She can change moods up to 5 times a day.
She checks you out a lot. She's not young anymore and she knows it.
She hates you for being you. She hates you because she can't be you.

This is what I've got so far. But be reassured, I will probably add some caracters to this list in the next few days. :) So which one(s) of these caracters do you have to stand every day? :))))
Lots of love and promise I'll write more often!

Tell me Ma when I go home...

Ever since I set foot in Dublin, I fell in love with this city. That might sound corny, I know, but it's so true. There's something lovely about this hectic, happy yet rainy city. It must be that I love the Irish so much, gosh life is so much easier when people are smiling no matter what.
I think the Irish should win an award for the most polite people in the world. If there were such a thing as a sorrymeter, I think it would catch like 1000 sorrys/mile/minute in here :))
In France it took me two years to find friends and start feeling accepted and integrated. Here it took me less than 2 days :)) At the same time, I guesss there are so many nationalities in here that it's actually very easy to fade the Romanian bad-fame.
Ok, so enough with the good stuff about Dublin, Ireland and all this. Dublin is also the place where I got robbed for the first time. Robbed in the sense that I was left with my clothes and only that :)) It does seem funny now, but believe me, it was most definately not funny. But then the Police came and they were so nice that I forgave the other Irish (junkees probably) for stealing my stuff. You can't stay mad at an Irish. I tried, it's physically impossible :))
Dublin is also the place where I got addicted to 3D movies, and I must say THAT is the future of cinema. I've never been to the cinema so often in my life, and unfortunately it's fairly expensive as well... But when you see a master piece like Coraline in 3D, there is no way you're gonna pay to see a regular movie! The tradition also requires that you go to a Koreean restaurant with friends after the movie :))
Dublin is definately not the place where I started drinking Guiness. As a matter of fact I haven't even had one yet :)) Actually I'm not a very big fan of Guiness (and here I probably angered like half of the world's population), although I live like 1km away from the Guiness factory. Jelous??
Dublin is definately the place where I got professionnal. I just started the internship here and I can think of no better place I could have chosen to do this. I was actually afraid of starting work in an office, considering the fact that I have serious issues with authority aka. someone bossing me around. But again, both my bosses are Irish, and as I said before, you can't stay mad at an Irish (not that that was ever the case) :))
And can you believe that I've only been here for 2 and a half weeks???

P.S: ... the boys won't leave the girls alone, la la la la...

I need something real...

Few weeks back I got my late Christmas present from my parents. I knew what it was and I was so happy I finally got it. It was no fancy technological marvel, no Ipod, no big diamond ring or anything that shallow. I don't even know what people yearn for anymore, cause you see, I don't have a TV and I'm guessing I never will! Anyway, it was the complete collection of my favourite books when I was a child, for those who know them, they're called 'Ciresarii'.
They're this incredibly, surprisingly well written books, that don't contain much trace of the communist era, but which remind me so much of my childhood, of what nostalgics call the 'simpler times'.
From the moment I started reading the first volume, I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop, because it felt more real than life itself. It's about a time long gone but which isn't that far away, about real values, about real things.
I don't know, must be because I had a very happy childhood, full of sunshine and outdoor games, and most of all, full of sensations. The feel of the wet grass on my bare feet on a summer morning, the taste of milk squished right out of the cow's tit, feeling so cold after a bath in the river behind the house, the taste of green chestnuts and wax cherries, walking for miles without feeling tired, the smell of clean sheets after such a long day.
I just get so sad when I see how irrational our lives become, and I will not be surprised at all when the society collapses. It will happen, because we're founding our lives on thin air, on illusions and on needs developped by the marketing department of the multinational corporations (corporation, such an apocalyptic noun!).
Until then I will be enjoying my fantasy real world every night, and will hope it won't end soon (I've already started the 3rd volume :((... ).

Spinning and moving and running and .... stopping?

I'm sorry if the title seems a little bit depressing. Actually I'm not sorry at all, it was meant to be depressing, I want you to feel the way I do!
I just have to ask: WHAT IS UP WITH THE WORLD? Why do we have to move around like some drunken ants? When did moving around become a 'must-have' for a successful carreer? I am very curious to see who the hell is actually happy about changing countries and places and friends every six months? Sure, it's nice to boast in front of other more 'settled' friends, but in the end who's winning?
All I hear from my friends today is that they're moving. Some travel around the world, some settle in some exotic country they've never even heard of before and some change the European capital every two months. Well, I'm gonna have to tell you that I don't envy you. Not a bit! I like having my little nest where I can come back to, I like seeing the same people for several years in a row, I like developing relationships that go further than 'I know your last name and we got soooo drunk last night!". And I also like giving places a history, you know when you drive by a place and you tell to yourself: omg, this is the place I first set foot in this place, seems so long time ago!
I know most of you won't agree, but I think in time you'll come to my conclusion: moving around is bad: for you, for the planet and for the society. Hack yeah, I'm all for conservatorism! If things were exactly how I wanted them, we'd probably be living in small villages in the mountains and we'd still be wondering what's beyond the next valley.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about adventure, discovering other cultures, globe-trotters, explorers, discoverers and all that crap, but people, if we go on like this there won't be anything left to discover, we're all going to end up the same: commercial-consumming, MacDonald's-digesting, shopping-addicted morons (who actually think they're pretty smart and that they got it all figured out), and I'm pretty sure we're already there...
Think about what I'm saying, settle down to some place and stop the bullshit with 'working abroad', you most certainly won't impress me!

P.S: In spite of all this rage against living abroad, I am all for short experiences abroad, on condition you return to a stable point, something people used to call 'home'. (Oh, and I do live abroad, but it's not really abroad since this country has become my new home, those of you who have been following this blog from the beginning must know the complex relationships of hatred and love I've been developping for France ;) anyway I'm here on different reasons :D)

Talkin' about crazy reality!

Went to the movies last week and saw this incredibly MIND blowingly FUN action/police FLICK, one of the best I've seen in YEARS! What started like a boring evening, filled with greasy Chinese food and the perspective of yet another copy of Ocean's Eleven - the history of a robbing that never took place and never could in this manner, turned out to be a discovery night! I love it when this happens, you're bored and then WHOP! the best movie you've seen in years just jumps up and turns your day around :D

Okay, okay! I won't keep you under pressure any more, the movie is called 'The Bank Job". Well, I know! That's what I said! What? The one with the guy from Transporter?? Get outta here! But you must believe me, it's nothing you'd expect. Besides it's like 100% British, with brit accents (personal fan!), brit humour (hillarious!) and a situation only the Britts could've achieved.... and it all happens in the 70s. What can I say, enjoy! and come back here and tell me what you thought about it ;) Paw waw!

PS: THE SCRIPT IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY!! AMAZING!!!

Sooooorryy

I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I last wrote in here, it's just that I'm so lazy! I actually hate myself for not being able to keep doing something or sticking to a decision for more than 5 minutes, I don't know if that's a common problem to you people??? buuuut... feel free to make me feel better about myself :))
So, it's the end of july, and a new breeze of sunny thoughts came into my landscape. So, in other words I'm pretty happy :) For the first time in like 2 years I know I'm gonna do something, and it feels nice to have a plan, and not drifting aimlessly, although this drifting aimlessly thing for one year felt quite good, imagine taking a paid vacation for a year, you could do with that, right? :p How about two years? No? That's what I said! Enough is enough! Gotta get off my tooshie and start doing something.
So, I figured, what better way to start doing something then getting ready to do something? Yes, you guessed it, I'm going back to school XD Well, hack ,I loved being a student, and I'm pretty hard-working when I have the carrot right in front of my nose. All bunny-talk aside, I actually can't wait! Meeting colleagues, making friends, having fun, copying classes, passing exams, waiting for grades, all that stuff. I really miss all that. Now I know most of you just got out of all of that like 2 seconds ago, but I'm telling you, you will start missing it in no time at all!
Ok, so I was just passing by, to tell you all that :D And maybe write something, cause it's been so loooong! Last post 12 May... but in my defence, I had a post that accidently got erased and didn't have the patience and the inspiration to re-write it :D