I love these dayz, when everything is just a haze (ro)

I :x this country

Ieri, ceva treaba pe la faculta, trec pe la ai mei pt masa de pranz si dupa sa urc Copoul la picior. La iesirea din cartier, centru de colectare al metalelor, mereu o sleahta de tuciurii. ii vad de departe, stateau adunati cu mic cu mare in jurul unui puradel care se dadea pe o bicicleta (micuta gen bmx). Un aurolac care nu-i de-al lor (mdah, trec destul de des pe acolo :D) se apropie si "vrea si el", al mai burtos dintre tigani ii arde doua suturi in cur, toti se distreaza de minune. Ala insista, insista, pana la urma cel cu aere de bulibasa, generos, zice pustiului sa-l lase, eu deja ajunsesem la vo 20m de ei. Se suie aurolacu pe bicla si o ia usor pe strada in directia mea. La vreo 10m de mine, il vad ca se lumineaza la fata si accelereaza brusc, pana trece prin dreptul meu deja lacrima de fericire si radea cu toti dintii (4 sau 5), dand la pedala cracanat dar cu spor, cu pletele jegoase in vant - kodak moment :D. Satra miroase ceva, din ras trecusera pe surpriza, si purandeii o pornesc dupa el, apoi si aia mai mari, inclusib bulibasa, pana sa iasa din raza mea vizuala o luase la fuga dupa ala si lehuza in slapi. Dracu de pe bicla cotise deja la urmatoare intersectie. Pana la faculta ma mai ia periodic cate un acces de ras, de se uita lumea ciudat la mine pe strada ;)).

Later. Merg sa recuperez bocancii dusi la reparat (au vo 30 de ture la activ, inclusiv iarna prin zapada si s-au descusut saracutii), ii lasasem la primul pe care il gasisem in cartier cu masina de cusut pe lateral, tot un tigan, mic bondoc, chel, cu camasa si pantaloni cu bretele. Cand ma apropii de magazin, asta tocmai inchide, iesea cu vo 6-7 pechinezi + chihuahua-something. Ma recunoaste si imi spune ca a rezolvat cu bocancii, sa-l astept 10 min ca se intoarce. pana vb cu mine javrele au intrat intr-un magazin de carne, se aud ceva strigate de la vanzatoare si asta se duce sa le scoata. Stau pe o banca, admir "peisajul" (multa lume colorata - in ambele sensuri), asta revine, si-mi arata bocancii, zice ca doar i-a lipit ca e stricata masina da sa merg cu ei cu incredere, mi-i coase el cand ma intorc. Inainte sa ies, ia doi pumni de caise din lada de pe masa si vrea sa-mi dea, sa ma imbuneze :)).

Imi place la nebunie cartierul asta vara, plin de copchilaraie, tineri, galagie, de vo 10 ani nu s-au mai crestat cu sabile, de vo 5 ani nu m-a mai amenintat nimeni pe inserat ca ma taie daca nu scot banii, s-au umplut spatiile verzi dintre blocuri etc. Very very latino, aproape ca imi pare rau ca m-am mutat in cugul ala in zona "linistita" si plina de bosorogi.

Azi de dim, iar spre faculta, mi-a incarcat sefu de departament norma, nu dau de el, maine plec iar, si tre sa rezolv cumva. Fug dupa autobuz, n-apuc sa iau bilet din statie si merg la sofer, asta cand ma vede cu 10ron cica n-are sa-mi dea rest. Np, eu am vrut, asa cum si acu o sapt am vrut bilet la tren din statie si nu mi-o dat (ajunsesem cu 1min de plecare ianite dupa multe multe peripetii), si pana la urma am venit din simeria pana-n iasi cu 30ron/om grup de 6 :-", fara sa fi avut nici cea mai mica initiativa de manareala O:-) . Zic totusi cu voce tare ca astept sa inaseze de la oameni si raman in zona din fata. Mai urca cativa, tot cu bani mari, tot nu le da, eu scanez oleaca autobuzul, the usual stuff. Spre centru asa una din tipele fainute cu care "schimbasem priviri" se ridica sa coboare si vine pe la usa din fata unde eram eu, se tine de bara de care ma tineam si eu si chiar inainte sa opreasca autobuzul ma trage usor de un deget si-mi lasa biletul ei in mana (no phone number though, i checked :P). I mean .. how can you not love them, dupa faze din astea ? :)). La urmatoarele doua statii inca doua persoane imi dau biletele inainte sa coboare (avantaj voce patrunzatoare ;))), le dau la ceilalti care urcasera si nu a vrut soferul sa dea rest. La Bucegi urca si controlorul =)).

Adineaori m-am intalnit in autogara cu o parte din cei de la catzarat, oameni mereu pe drumuri, mereu grabiti si cu sclipiri in ochi. Maine plecare in gashca in crai la cocotz, canyoning si trasee nemarcate <:-P. I just love the summer :).

Planning is daydreaming ..

.. any other (practical) purpose of it makes little sense to me. Usually, detailed plans just ruin the fun. I am, of course, talking about the holydays, summer and traveling, not about work :).


My next posts will probably be in the IasiOutdoors blog (ro). Summer rocks !

There's no safe way to see just how close you can get to a cliff without falling

Curious individuals do have a tendency to test the limits, rather then take them as an established part of the environment. Probably because many of the rules we grow up with are not really justified, and they start feeling like a jacket that's too small, especially in "development stages". Many times though, after we live more, wise up and mellow, we turn with an indulgent smile to the "rebel" we were and realize that the rules themselves are not that much of a problem, the real issues were entirely different, and happiness doesn't lie just in breaking limits.

For the past two years, I've been really spreading myself in many directions. Trying everything that attracted me, especially when it came to work. I am sure that this helped me grow a lot, not only professionally, and it got me to a point where I am much better at judging the real value of my time and of the opportunities I get. BUT - I'm feeling like I'm close to an edge. If I push things much further without focusing, chances are I will spread myself to thin.

If you don't push boundaries, you rarely get anything relevant

It seams to be true in science, it is definitely true in art. Some would argue that it applies to marketing and bussiness in general too. But today I'm thinking about people. Cosy, sedate interactions are a horribly slow way to get to know what one's really all about.

Practical perfection

Just read this cool article by Guy Kawasaky about a smart, green building added to the Stanford campus, sponsored by Yahoo! cofounder Jerry Yang.

I couldn't quite pin-point the reason why I loved the whole thing so much. It was, of course, the modern and the environment friendly approach .. it was also the awesome fact that all the not-so-cheap investments made in various technology tweaks ($470/square foot) would pay for themselves in savings in only 6 years.

But there is more. It's spartan. It's modern not necessarily in looks but more importantly in concept. It's practical and simple. It's trully smart, not just preatty. It somehow reminded me of the fameous Antoine de St. Exupery quote:

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Echoes

A teaser:

Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
An echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.

And the majestic, glorious, heartbreaking:

The Live At Pompei version is on YouTube too. Very worthwhile, as well as the rest of the concert (duh).

Warm fuzzy feelings

Not long ago I wrote a post on dzone, signaling a problem about the voting system and suggesting some solutions.

If I'd have an option to cast my vote in the same place where the content that is producing it is located, I wouldn't miss rating one link.

The post became one of the most voted on dzone, and it actually caused a reaction.

A big problem at DZone is that you have to remember to go back and vote for links you have visited, and this Firefox add-on solves that problem beautifully. Every time you visit a link from DZone, this add-on places a small, unobtrusive widget on the target page to let you vote. Simply click the widget to cast your vote, and it will be registered just as if you had gone back to DZone. It’s a simple and convenient solution.

The extension does exactly what it should, and I strongly recommend it to any dzone user.



This was one of the coolest things I got from blogging. Making some difference on a larger scale.

Something that I enjoyed more, and less on a precioussssss ego-ride way, was the comment I received to this post (some very specific technical problem) on wordpress.

Man you saved my job. You performed a miracle just by solving this on your own. :-) May you prosper in life.

Despite the exaggeration, it's good to know that it helped someone. The post seams to be quite useful, it constantly gets 5-6 hits per day, and I'm happy for this.



This brings me to the point. It's a well written post (SEO and all) solving a real problem. It will make someone grateful, but it won't get me a subscribed reader. Thank God I'm not fixed on getting readers :). When I started writing in English, what I wanted was a place for experiments. And it's serving it's original goal well, I've learned many things that I expect to put into use for something real at some point. Everything else is a bonus :).



Happy new year.