smoke in the dark

it was only september, but it already smelled like winter. the cold air from the north sea was slowly creeping inside the room. we sat by the semi-opened window and smoked in the dark. i could feel your every breath and movement and hear your thoughts twisting together with mine. the night was silent and we sat there without saying a word that could make the magic floating in the air vanish.

the smoke was playing around us and looked lazy while rising up to the ceiling. you put this song on my laptop and it seemed to go along perfectly with the darkness inside.

Beethoven\’s Moonlight Sonata, Laurindo Almeida

you stood still until the song was over. you blinked a few times and i think i spotted a faint smile on your lips, but other than that you hadn’t moved a muscle. you felt the music in a way that others can’t. i looked at you the entire time and i could feel the music through you.

smoke, darkness and silence.

Tags: connection, darkness, moonlight sonata, music, smoke

how would you spend your last day on earth?

i’d wake up next to you, open my eyes to see if you’re awake, smile and then close my eyes again. i’d touch your shoulder and think of how great your skin feels beneath my fingertips. i’d smile again, this time with my eyes shut. i can feel you looking at me, i can feel your smile, i can feel your soul. there’s no need for words, they’ve never been more unnecessary than now.

we would wander around the city with no particular goal in mind. it feels like we’re the only people left on this world even though the streets are crowded. nobody seems to matter anymore. it’s just us. we lay down on the grass and gaze at the sky. it’s light blue and the clouds look like they were drawn by somebody. maybe by an angel.  i can feel the smell of freshly cut grass and remember how amazing your skin smells. i lean towards your neck. you kiss me softly, barely touching my lips. i can feel your breath on my lips and i’m trying to take it all into my lungs out of a desperate desire of keeping you with me forever.  it seems to be working, as i feel even closer to you.

it’s dark, we’re down the pier. the waves are hitting the concrete wall, breaking into a million pieces of white foam. i can smell the sea and feel the cold breeze caressing my cheeks. you look into my eyes and i know.

why I like Ubuntu

Well, first of all, it’s free. You can simply download it from their website, update it and reinstall it anytime you like. Ubuntu is a part of a larger project that supports free and open source software so that everybody can have access to the best technologies available. Canonical ltd. is the company that supports Ubuntu and other similar projects. They seem to have found a better way of distributing the software freely and also make revenue: they’re selling technical support and other services that are tied to Ubuntu. Thumbs up for them.

Another thing that I particularly like is the fact that you don’t need to worry about finding applications online, downloading and installing them: you pretty much have everything after you install Ubuntu. Just some examples: you get OpenOffice, an application similar to Microsoft Office, developed by Oracle and the openoffice.org community. It’s compatible to Microsoft Office, so you don’t need to worry about compatibility issues. You can also choose to save your documents in several formats. The same goes for video/audio software: you have them from the beginning. No need for extra codecs or stuff like that. I’m using the Totem Movie Player and the Rhythmbox Music Player. If you want to install more programmes, you simply go to the Ubuntu Software Center where you can find thousands of application, ready to be installed. Remember, no more illegal downloading of software.

Another thing that convinced me to switch to Ubuntu was the fast way all applications open and work. I don’t have a super computer and with Windows I would have to wait forever until something opens. But with Ubuntu opening an application and even running more programmes at once is not a problem, which is great, especially if you’re using a netbook.

I’m a girl, so I have to say it: it looks cute. Have a look and tell me he doesn’t.

As you can see, everything is out there, no need for shortcuts. You can access everything from the panel in the left side of the screen. Plus, you get to add favourites on you primary page.

To continue the girlish style: Ubuntu operating system is named after the Ubuntu philosophy, which promotes humanity towards others. Pretty cool in my opinion.

Tags: advantages, operating system, ubuntu

how to install Ubuntu

Did I make you curious about Ubuntu? Wanna try it and see for yourself how great it is? (jish, this sounds like a bad TV commercial ) Here are some easy steps on how you can install Ubuntu next to your Windows (assuming you’re using the big w).

First of all, you’ll want to make some more partitions on your computer. I used Easeus partition master to do this. Simply download it from the net, install it and afterwards it’s pretty straightforward. You might also want to make a backup of your files (or even Windows) before starting the repartitioning. You can use this programme to do so.

You’ll need two new partitions for Ubuntu. One is where the actual system will go and the second is the so-called swap area, some space Ubuntu needs for installation. The swap area should only have about 500MG. The size of the actual partition is up to you, depending on how many programms you’ll want to install. At least 4 GB is recommendable though.

I guess you can also choose not to repartition and install Ubuntu on the same drive as Windows. When installing Ubuntu you’ll have 3 options: install it next to Windows, delete W. and install Ubuntu over or manually choose where to install Ubuntu. You should choose the last option if you created 2 new partitions. Also choose Ext4 journal and / for the actual partition when asked.

I have a netbook, so I installed the netbook edition of Ubuntu. For laptops and desktops, there’s another version of it. Guess it’s pretty similar to what I have. Anyway, Ubuntu is free and you can download it from their website. Choose this if you have a netbook and this if you use a laptop or a desktop. As I don’t have a CD/DVD drive, I installed Ubuntu from a USB stick (2GB is more than enough). I find it the easiest way to do it. You just need to get the Universal USB Installer. You’ll also find a link on Ubuntu’s install page, together with step-by-step instructions.

The coolest part is that you can test Ubuntu without actually installing it in your system. Just run it from your USB stick to get an idea on how it looks!

WARNING: I am not to blame for any deletion of important stuff from your computer during the repartitioning or the installing of Ubuntu! You do it on your own risk.

Techunit’s Ubuntu Video Tutorials

Tags: install, Linux, partitioning, repartitioning, ubuntu, windows

fell in love with an alien

I have to admit, I’m a really faithful woman. When I find something I like, I stick to it/him/her. I’ve been in a monogamous relationship with Windows for more than 12 years now and I can’t really complain about him. I mean sure, we had our differences, but all in all we got along pretty well. It was a mature relationship, we both accepted that no one’s perfect, so things were peaceful and we lived in harmony. Until now.

It was a hot summer day. Too hot to go out, too hot to do anything. I was browsing around without any particular goal. It was then that I met Ubuntu. We chatted a bit, tried to get to know each other better. I was a bit reserved at the beginning, but things moved so fast that I didn’t even have time to think about what I was doing. Less than one hour later I was hopelessly addicted. It was love at first sight.

I still didn’t tell Windows about my infidelity. I’m not sure if I should. I know it’s selfish of me, but I decided to keep them both for a while, see how it goes… I feel horrible when I think about what I’m doing to both of them, but it all goes away when I open my laptop and see Ubuntu’s seductive layout or Window’s comforting applications.

Yours unfaithfully,

C.

Tags: netbook, operating system, ubuntu, windows

future plans

in exactly 2 weeks and one day i’ll be in dundee, a small city in scotland. i’m going to start a master’s programme in design ethnography at the uni of dundee. it’s a one year, really intense course that will (hopefully) lead to a MSc degree. i’m obviously really excited about this and i can’t wait to get there! i’ve chatted today with Catriona Macaulay, the director of the programme, and she told me that she’s expecting a pretty diverse bunch of people this year. i’m really looking forward to meeting new people and beginning a new adventure!

will keep you posted on how things go!

Tags: design ethnography, dundee, scotland, university of dundee

constantly changing

as you can see, my blog has suffered some changes. dunno why, but i feel the need to redecorate every now and then. just can’t recognize myself in older layouts even though i chose them because they represented me at some point.

another change is, well, the actual posts on the blog. i’ve  been lazier than an aristocratic cat, i admit. just couldn’t find the motivation to put my thoughts together. hopefully this will change ( i’m an absolute optimist, what can i say?).

do come back for more!

yours truly,

c.

Serbian love

even though my skills as a photographer lack in … emm, well, they simply just lack, I took some photos in Belgrade and Novi Sad and I wanted to share them with the world. mostly photos of graffiti or stencils. if you’re into street art, you’ll love Serbia!

Tags: belgrade, graffiti, novi sad, serbia, stencils, street art

do you tolerate?

ISWiB or International Student Week in Belgrade is a student festival that takes place every year in Belgrade (obviously!). This year it was held between the 11th and the 18th of July and I must confess that I absolutely loved it! Belgrade is a great city, I immediately fell in love with it and I’m sure I’ll go back for some more wild nights in Serbia’s capital.

Some more things about the event: this year’s topic was intolerance, “Do we tolerate intolerance?” being the festival’s motto.  So what’s this all about? Well, basically, a bunch of students from all over the world get together and discuss topics that concern the world we live in. Around 200 students and lots of volunteers , organizers and moderators spent a whole week together trying to figure out why people are intolerant and why can’t we all just get along. If we can do it, they can do it too.

There were 10 different workshops with themes such as sustainable development, human rights, youth activism, film, photography and arts&crafts.

I took part in the Arts&crafts workshop where we split in groups and made short stop motion films about intolerance. This was a new technique for me and I transformed myself into something similar to Sponge Bob: I absorbed every information I could! It was a great experience and it made me curious about this area of the media. The moderators were students from the Metropolitan University in Belgrade (private uni, great facilities!) and were absolutely great! Together with Bojana, Nikola and Adam (you should really check out their website, it’s pretty cool) we managed to learn new stuff about stop motion films. We also did some stencils on t-shirts which was fun and entertaining, but also had a practical goal: do a fashion show at our final presentation in front of  the other participants.

So, me and 3 other (really cool) girls did this stop motion film about intolerance. Hope you’ll like it!

Tags: belgrade, film, intolerance, iswib, stop motion, student festival, tolerance

i love falling in love

is it us?

who’s to blame?  who’s weird and illogical? men or women?

i’ve been putting a lot of thought into this lately and i still haven’t came up with an answer.

sure, since i’m a woman, i’d tend to say it’s them, it’s their fault for every bad thing that happens in a relationship. but what if it’s us?

a male friend of mine accused me recently of asking “stupid women’s questions”. i wanted to know what’s up with us, what’s our status, so to speak. apparently, men consider this as idiot and unnecessary discussions. women, on the other hand, always want to know where they stand, they want it all cleared up. no mistery, no games. and you’d think women are romantic! not at all it seems.

so, my question is: is it women’s fault for wanting to clarify things or are men to blame for prefering to play games?

yes, i’m alive.

i’ve been getting complaints regarding my activity on wordpress. or lack of it actually. sooo, thought i’d post an update with my latests news.

in no particular order:

i donated 450 ml of blood. got tested for everything you could possibly test. turns out i’m healthy. who would have thought?

planned a last minute get-away to the seaside for the 1st of may w/e.

quit my job at ubisoft. still miss it.

wrote the first 20 pages of my BA thesis. got stuck. waiting for divine inspiration.

bought a huge green ball.

got accepted at a few universities abroad. still waiting for responses regarding funding. fingers crossed.

took ielts and got a 8.0 out of 9.

started writing down my dreams.

bought a really funky dress for 2 lei (50 cents).

googled the recipe for mămăligă, a traditional romanian dish. turns out i only needed corn flour, salt and water. really complicated.

went to more film festivals than i can remember. loved them all.

had a picnic in the park on a monday morning.

had a horrible fight with bucharest, then made up. fell in love with him again.

took the stairs instead of the elevator every night. and i live at the 8th floor!

i think that covers pretty much everything.

I’ve been tagged!

I’ve been tagged! Miky was nice enough to tag me in the worlds longest tag thingy :p So here it goes:

01) Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02) Swam with wild dolphins
03) Climbed a mountain
04) Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05) Been inside the Great Pyramid
06) Held a tarantula
07) Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08) Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09) Hugged a tree
10) Done a striptease
11) Bungee jumped
12) Visited Paris
13) Watched a lightning storm at sea
14) Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15) Seen the Northern Lights
16) Gone to a huge sports game
17) Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18) Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19) Touched an iceberg
20) Slept under the stars
21) Changed a baby’s diaper
22) Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23) Watched a meteor shower
24) Gotten drunk on champagne
25) Given more than you can afford to charity
26) Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27) Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28) Had a food fight
29) Bet on a winning horse
30) Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31) Asked out a stranger
32) Had a snowball fight
33) Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34) Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35) Held a lamb
36) Enacted a favorite fantasy
37) Taken a midnight skinny dip
38) Taken an ice cold bath
39) Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40) Seen a total eclipse
41) Ridden a roller coaster
42) Hit a home run
43) Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44) Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
45) Adopted an accent for an entire day
46) Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47) Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48) Had two hard drives for your computer
49) Visited all 50 states of USA
50) Loved your job for all accounts
51) Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52) Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53) Had amazing friends
54) Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55) Watched wild whales
56) Stolen a sign
57) Backpacked in Europe
58) Taken a road-trip
59) Rock climbing
60) Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61) Midnight walk on the beach
62) Sky diving
63) Visited Ireland
64) Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65) In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66) Visited Japan
67) Benchpressed your own weight
68) Milked a cow
69) Alphabetized your records
70) Pretended to be a superhero
71) Sung karaoke
72) Lounged around in bed all day
73) Posed nude in front of strangers
74) Scuba diving
75) Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye
76) Kissed in the rain
77) Played in the mud
78) Played in the rain
79) Gone to a drive-in theater
80) Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it
81) Visited the Great Wall of China
82) Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog
83) Dropped Windows in favor of something better (I’m sticking to my first love)
84) Started a business
85) Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86) Toured ancient sites
87) Taken a martial arts class
88) Sword fought for the honor of a woman
89) Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90) Gotten engaged
91) Been in a movie
92) Crashed a party
93) Loved someone you shouldn’t have
94) Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95) Gotten married
96) Had sex at the office
97) Gone without food for 5 days
98) Made cookies from scratch
99) Won first prize in a costume contest
100) Ridden a gondola in Venice
101) Gotten a tattoo (not yet)
102) Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103) Gotten divorced
104) Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105) Got flowers for no reason
106) Masturbated in a public place
107) Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108) Taken illegal drugs
109) Performed on stage
110) Been to Las Vegas
111) Recorded music
112) Eaten shark
113) Had a one-night stand
114) Gone to Thailand
115) Seen Siouxsie live
116) Bought a house
117) Been in a combat zone
118) Buried one/both of your parents
119) Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120) Been on a cruise ship
121) Spoken more than one language fluently
122) Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123) Bounced a check
124) Performed in Rocky Horror
125) Read – and understood – your credit report
126) Raised children.
127) Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy.
128) Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129) Created and named your own constellation of stars
130) Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131) Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132) Called or written your Congress person
133) Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134) …more than once? – More than twice?
135) Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136) Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
137) Had an abortion or your female partner did
138) Had plastic surgery
139) Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.
140) Wrote articles for a large publication
141) Lost over 100 pounds
142) Held someone while they were having a flashback
143) Piloted an airplane
144) Petted a stingray
145) Broken someone’s heart
146) Helped an animal give birth
147) Been fired or laid off from a job
148) Won money on a T.V. game show
149) Broken a bone (a few)
150) Killed a human being
151) Gone on an African photo safari
152) Ridden a motorcycle
153) Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154) Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (waaay below the neck)
155) Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (and won some championships too)
156) Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157) Ridden a horse
158) Had major surgery
159) Had sex on a moving train (busted!)
160) Had a snake as a pet
161) Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162) Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163) Slept for more than 30 hours
164) Visited lots of foreign countries
165) Visited all 7 continents
166) Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167) Eaten kangaroo meat
168) Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169) Been a sperm or egg donor
170) Eaten sushi
171) Had your picture in the newspaper
172) Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime (healthy relationships are not my thing)
173) Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
174) Gotten someone fired for their actions
175) Gone back to school
176) Parasailed
177) Changed your name
178) Petted a cockroach
179) Eaten fried green tomatoes
180) Read The Iliad
181) Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
182) Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them (still using them)
183) …and gotten 86′ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184) Taught yourself an art from scratch
185) Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186) Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187) Skipped all your school reunions
188) Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (sign language does wonders!)
189) Been elected to public office
190) Written your own computer language (does inventing a new language with my childhood friend count?)
191) Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
192) Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193) Built your own PC from parts
194) Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195) Had a booth at a street fair
196) Dyed your hair
197) Been a DJ
198) Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199) Written your own role playing game
200) Been arrested

Got 76 out of 200.

snow

mother nature decided to give me the best birthday present ever: first snow of this winter! my mommy told me I should make a wish because it will definitely come true. so, here it goes! fingers crossed!

missed connection

i met you one night in a club. you were a friend of a friend and you had the cutest smile i had ever seen. and curly hair. we met again one night and kissed. then i left without saying anything. i’m sorry i never asked for you name.

inspired by http://missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com/

no title

i just realised i fall in love with people after i see them sleep.

shit!

i just remembered i have a blog!

that’s all i had to say. oh, and i got a job as a video game tester at Ubisoft.

that’s really all i had to say. noo, wait, i also did laundry today.

seriously now, no thoughts left.

Tags: nada

Small hint for gentlemen

Dear men,

I find myself obliged to give you a small piece of advice that might come in handy for you and your relationships: when a woman says one of the following: leave me alone; don’t call me; I’m fine; nothing’s wrong; don’t come over, after a fight/quarell/heathed discussion, please do not, I repeat, DO NOT listen to her! She actually wants the exact opposite of that.

Clarification: this only applies in heterosexual relationships; please do not take it for granted with women you don’t know or barely know. That’s stalking. :p

Oh damn, I neglected you again, dear blog…

Dear blog,

You probably hate me by now, there’s really nothing I could do to make you feel better… I’m sorry, I’ve disappointed you. Again. And again. And then some more. But you always find the power to forgive my infidelity and take me back in your warm and cuddly layout. I know I can always count on you, you’ll never let me down, even if I hurt you  so many times. I can always knock on your Log in, no matter what time it is or how drunk I am. You accept me the way I am (lazy) and I love you for that.

Goodnight my dear and see you soon! (we both know it’s a lie, but you’ll wait for me, you always do)

C.

eine Scheißeschokolade, bitte!

Today I started working in the BC Cafe in the campus. Okey, not really working, more like volunteering. It’s sort of a job – the money + lots of fun = happy Piticot.

wtf?

Search pe Google in urma caruia cineva a ajuns pe blogul subsemnatei: “par pe burta la femei” .

Trebuie sa recunosc, delicata problema, dar de unde pana unde respectiva domnisoara cu par pe burta a ajuns pe blogul piticotului?

Erasmus in Ilmenau

I just came back home after spending 5 months in Germany and I already miss it. Being an international student is great and I think applying for this scholarship was probably the best decision I ever made. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to stay for another semester. So after visiting all my friends and family in Romania, I’ll go back and continue my Erasmus adventure.

I studied in Ilmenau, a small city (judging by its size, it’s actually more like a village :p ) in Thüringen, East Germany. Ilmenau is surrounded by mountains, so you have a really great view and fresh air. But there is also a drawback to this: rainy and cold weather. However, I got used to it and learned to appreciate sunny days more than I did before.

Technische Universität Ilmenau is (obviously) a technical university, but it also has a media institute where I studied Applied Media Science. The classes I attended were quite interesting, very practical and project-based. I enjoyed working with German students and it was a great opportunity to make new friends among my colleagues.

Living in a campus is really great! You have everything you need within a five-minutes distance. Dorms, faculties, cafeteria, clubs, coffee shop, sports facility. Ok, living in a bigger city where you can do more activities is also nice, but Ilmenau is cozy and confortable in a way a big city could never be. It’s easier to get together with your friends,  get to classes or just go for a coffee. The thing I liked most was that you could go visit friends without a particular reason, just go to their place and hang out. This is more or less impossible in a big city: you don’t just change 2 buses and a subway to chat for 10 minutes.

I still can’t believe how many people I got to meet and how many friends I made. I was especially close to Spanish guys and girls, four guys from Mexico, a guy from Slovenia, another one from Peru and a few German people. It was interesting to see how easy you make new friends in this circumstances. We all felt a bit lost and needed somebody to share that with. When speaking about friends, I can’t not speak about the Romanian girls I shared this experience with. It was great being there with them, we had so much fun and I already miss them all! We got very close in the past few months and I couldn’t imagine Erasmus without them!

Since I came to Ilmenau, I also got to travel a lot. Not only Germany, but also France, Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands. I’m not sure why, but I felt more free to go anywhere I wanted and it was so easy to hop in a train and just go wherever I want.

I’m really looking forward to going back there in a few weeks! It might sound strange, but I felt like home in Ilmenau.

Piticot in tara uriasilor: resurrection

Anul trecut pe vremea asta imi faceam blog. Acum sper sa il revergorez.

The Idiot Test

 

Funniest IQ Test ever! Press here

Tags: funny, IQ, test

Fiecare cu plasa lui!

Femei cu plase in mana. Femei cu sandale de piele cu toc mic si patrat. Femei imbracate in rochii cu flori, buline, imprimeuri colorate. Femei cu posete de piele si adidasi. Femei cu parul scurt. Femei cu ruj de proasta calitate pe buze. Femei imbatranite inainte de vreme. Femei cu suvite prost facute sau radacini crescute. Femei cu oja roz sidefat. Femei fardate cu creion verde. Femei cu ochelari mari si rame de plastic. Femei grase. Femei cu parul roscat inchis. Femei urate. Femei cu parul permanent. Femei cu lant si cercei de aur, purtati la trening de fas. Femei cu par pe picoare. Femei acre. Femei cu parul murdar. Femei cu sanii lasati si cu burta asortata. Femei cu ochi frumosi si tristi. Femei imbracate de la haine vechi. Femei cu dantura ingalbenita si neglijata. Femei gospodine. Femei la casa lor. Femei care au uitat ca sunt femei.