2009

Another year has passed. A year of struggles, with good and bad, with joy and sorrow, with achievements and disappointments, but in the end it's just another year.
2009 will always remain in the course of history as the year marked by the economic crisis, as the year of the first US black president, but most of all as the year of change. Change wasn't a choice, but more of a consequence. Overall, it was a necessity.
With the exception of a few, we all had to change. We had to change the way we think, the way we see things and overall the way we live. What has been the main trait of the last 2-3 years, namely overspending and extravaganza has now become obsolete. We had to rethink the basics, we had to adapt to a new world, but in the end we proved that we have the capacity to do it. We realized that we don't NEED that many things in order to be happy, that money does not guarantee happiness and that in the end, we have only ourselves and the ones we care for.
Personally, I consider 2009 the year of profound changes. The experiences of this year just made me stronger, more mature and maybe overall a better person, but that's not for me to say. Overall I consider it a good year that despite its ups and downs, taught me more valuable things than most of the other years.
I am now looking forward to 2010 with more confidence and with the belief that I will be able to capitalize on 2009's teachings.
Happy New Year to all of you out there!

Prostia, Circul si Romania (PCR)

Dupa o luna petrecuta in Praga, ma regasesc in aeroport, sorbind pe indelete o cafea si urmarind curios ceea ce se intampla la urnele de vot. Asa cum era de asteptat primele exit poll-uri (care oficial nu ar fi trebuit sa apara pana la ora 21.00) indica un rezultat la care ne asteptam cu totii: Geoana presedinte!
Ar fi insuficient sa spun ca este un rezultat trist, pentru mine, pentru voi si pentru Romania. Cred ca cel mai potrivit cuvant pentru a descrie acest rezultat este DEZASTRU.
Trecand peste momentul de depresie care m-a cuprins cand am vazut acest rezultat, ma regasesc in fata realitatii de zi cu zi din Romania, si anume ca PROSTIA este la putere.
Cand te uiti la el prima data, iti spui ca nu are cum sa aiba atata putere, mai adaugi putin mustar langa si o felie de paine si deodata ai castigat un vot. Da, despre el vorbesc, despre "mititelul" nostru cel de toate zilele si aliatul PSD in toate alegerile de pana acum. Cu toate ca acest CIRC (ia mititelul neamule) se petrece la orice tip de alegeri (locale, parlamentare, prezidentiale) este uimitor totusi cat de creduli sunt romanii, cum pot ei sa creada ca peste noapte o vor duce mai bine, vor avea pensii de 1000 de ori mai mari, alimentele vor fi gratis, iar cainii vor umbla cu covrigi in coada. Sistemele de irigatii vor aparea peste noapte, motorina va fi gratis, NORMA se va face inzecit, vacile vor da de 10 ori mai mult lapte, purceii vor fi de 10 ori mai grasi, etc.
Daca in Timisoara oamenii au iesit in strada, strigand din toti ranunchii ca nu mai vor comunistii la putere, in Moldova poza lui Geoana probabil va aparea in orice birt in urmatoarea luna, dar va fi data jos dupa 2 luni cand oamenii vor vedea ca nu se intampla nici unul din lucrurile mentionate mai sus. Si cum 4 ani sunt suficient sa iti lingi ranile, sa uiti ce ti-a fost promis acum si sa incepi sa speri din nou, noi sa fim sanatosi ca belele vin singure.
Nu voi incheia spunand ca "ne meritam soarta" pentru ca eu si voi nu ne-o meritam. Ne aflam intr-o tara in care, cu cateva exceptii PROSTIA este la puterea, iar noi nu avem nici un fel de arme pentru a lupta impotriva ei. Asa ca, VA MERITATI soarta, voi cei care va bucurati de un mititel o data la patru ani.

Din parc

Afara este o zi de toamna superba, una din acele zile pe care e pacat sa le irosesti stand intre 4 pereti de beton, una din acele zile care te fac sa iti doresti sa fii afara, sa alergi prin iarba, sa dormi la umbra unui copac uitand de griji si de tot ceea ce te inconjoara, sa fii printre oameni dar singur, doar tu cu tine si eventual micile ganganii care nu iti dau pace, dar al caror joc nevinovat nu te deranjeaza absolut deloc.
Am ales sa fac un lucru, atipic pentru romani, si anume sa stau sa scriu, sa citesc, sa gandesc, tolanit in iarba, in parc. Spun atipic pentru ca traim intr-o tara in care pana si calcatul pe iarba era interzis pana acum mai putin de un an, unde notiunea de iesit la iarba verde se confunda cu urcatul in masina, bineinteles dupa ce iti faci bagajul minim - gratar, lemne, carbuni si carne, un drum de o ora, facut focul, mancat friptura eventual pe ritm de manele, udat totul cu bere la PET din belsug, dupa care hop inapoi in masina si destinatia micul tau palat comunist de la etajul 10 al unui bloc gri.
Azi nu am ales sa fiu rupt de realitate, ci am ales sa iau cu mine laptopul, sa vorbesc cu oameni dragi si sa scriu. Am micul meu coltisor de 2 metri patrati unde zgomotele masinilor parca nu patrund, tipetele celor care protesteaza in fata palatului parlamentului nu razbat, unde se aud doar gandurile mele, freamatul si fosnetul lor generat de procesul de asezare si rearanjare a lor. Totul se transforma, nimic nu se pierde.

Simplicity and happiness

What do you need to be happy? The answer to this question is a perennial one, because as soon as you answer it becomes outdated, because you'll discover something else that you will believe it will make you even happier. Let's call these the traps of the modern world -the things that will make you most of the times forget about the basics of happiness.
Just to make everything clear, we are talking here about happiness and not about euphoria, the state of mind that precedes happiness but is only sustainable on short term. The reason I decided to make the aforementioned remark, is because most of the people I've met are sometimes failing to make a difference between happiness and euphoria, considering themselves happy only when in an euphoric state.
What's simplicity has to do with it, you may ask. Well, it plays an important role. Why? Well, because most of the times, the people that deep down have the capacity to remain simple, regardless of their position in the society, how high up in the corporation's hierarchy they may find themselves in or plainly just how rich they are, will be the happiest. And by simple I mean, humble, down to earth, with a very well defined and simple set of moral values and most of all true to themselves.
Now let's look at another side of simplicity. I will define simplicity from another angle, that of intellectual capacity. Are the "simpler" people happier than the more complex ones? Or, in another way to put it,are smarter people less happy than the less smart people? In bulk, most of the times yes, because the more complex will always try to better understand what happiness is and what will make them happy, they will try to define for themselves the basic things of their existence without which they will not be happy, while the simpler ones will just take for granted the common definition of happiness: grow-up, have a house, a good wife, kids and the basics for your existence.
I am not a common definition nor am I willing to take it for granted, but I discovered that sometimes we can make our lives less happy because we decide to treat simple things in complex ways, looking for complex solutions, while the solution is staring you in the face.
Sometimes simpler equals happier, no matter how complex you may be.

The God Father of all knowledge

On numerous occasions I have seen experienced people treating the less experienced ones with a sense of superiority that was way out of proportions. This is not applicable only in a corporate environment but also in the father/mother - son/daughter, husband - wife relationship. I will chose to focus on the latter.
In most of the cases the "experienced one" states that he does the things he does (nervous reactions, correcting you in an irritating way for insignificant mistakes, etc.) out of love and because is trying to make you not to make mistakes, without realizing that his/her angry tone, the lack of patience, the posting in God Father of all knowledge will just induce a nervous state to the so called "apprentice". One other thing that they do not understand is that one of the most important aspects they have to focus on is represented by helping the other to build his/her self confidence. And how do you do that? Well, definitely not like the way presented above. Constant encouragement is needed even in the case of small mishaps, a friendly and understanding look and maybe even a pat on the shoulder stating "it's fine, you learned your lesson, let's move on now".
It's like when you have a small child that is just learning its first steps. Of course that he will not manage to do it from his first, second or third attempt, but if you scream at him not only that he will not manage to do it from his tenth attempt but, in time, his self confidence will suffer and he will constantly position himself as inferior compared to others.
The behaviour of such "experienced people" just demonstrates a sort of arrogance, a non-existent state of superiority and most of all a lack of judgement and incapacity to understand the human nature, that will eventually cause more harm than good. Don't be one of THEM!

The Herbaliser - what a nice and pleasant surprise

You go to a concert where you know what's going to happen: meet some friends that you haven't seen for quite some time now, have some beer, enjoy the music (as much as possible for someone that is not particularly into rock music) and relax. You don't expect anything to surprise you.
At 8 pm a band appears on the stage, you look at the program without too much interest and you see a name: The Herbaliser. Hmmm... who the f*** are they? You turn your back to the stage, they start singing, you start to move (you like it but just don't know it yet), you turn to the stage still dancing, start clapping and you think: don't know who the f*** they are but I surely like them. Enjoy!

I believe we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart

I was having a quiet evening, reading some materials for tomorrow's meetings. The TV was open. It has been like that for two hours now, but nothing that was on manged to make me leave aside what I was doing. Until the quote in the title of this post....
Sometimes out of something totally ordinary something extraordinary might arise. Just let yourself suprised, and enjoy the moment.

It's all about balance

You can be a bright, ambitious, hard working young man that is looking to find his way in life, but there comes a moment in time when you realize that in order to obtain the perfect mix of factors that will help you grow, both personally and professionally, you also need luck to be on your side. Let's put it this way: you want to make a cookie, you chose only the best ingredients, get the mix ready, but you forget to use the baking powder. The result: something that tastes acceptable, that could have been an excellent cookie, but it isn't because a "magic" ingredient was missing.
I am not stating that without having the God of Fortune on your side you will not be able to accomplish some of your youth dreams, I'm only stating that luck is playing a vital role throughout our mere existence.
Although vital, having luck on your side is not enough. You also have to be able to notice and exploit the opportunities "generated" by having luck on your side and also accept and be patient in those moments when luck seems to be missing. Acceptance and patience does not equal resigning in front of the challenges ahead, but having the maturity and the right amount of patience that will allow you to get over the obstacles in front you and bring luck back on your side again.
By luck I do not understand inheriting a large amount of money or winning the lottery (although none of the options are to be ignored :) ), but the chance to meet the right people, to be in the right place at the right time, to have great friends that support you in whatever you do without being afraid to criticise you, to have some amazing parents, etc.
Now assuming that you have the qualities mentioned above (smart, hard working, etc), the God of Fortune on your side and you're on the road of great personal success, there is another variable that you have to consider: balance. Always strive for maintaining the right balance between what you expect from life and what you give back.
I consider myself one of the lucky persons, as I had the chance (luck) to meet great people that turned out to also be amazing friends and have great parents that never told me what to do but rather guided me and supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Furthermore, chance once more decided to be generous with me by helping me encounter a great person and professional, that besides guiding me throughout my professional life also offered me some valuable life lessons.
The moral of today's post: never take things for granted and make sure you always offer something in return.

Childish irony

It's raining, it's cold outside and we're eagerly waiting for the traffic lights to turn green.....again and again and again.... Everybody in the bus is thinking at something/someone, there's an awkward silence surrounding us. The bus stops, three kids hop in and start laughing. They laugh so loudly that everybody stopped thinking for a second and decided to give them "the look". You bad kids!
At the same time you realize that you stopped having that innocent fun, the childish one, and you wonder why. A first thought comes to your mind: I am a grownup now, that's what grownups do. We have to think about tomorrow, about tomorrow's deadlines, about the daily chores, if we payed our bills or not and so on, thus there's no time for fooling around! What were you thinking!?!?!
Isn't it ironic? When you're a child you want to grow up, be a part of the adult world because it's so cool. You think that nobody will tell you what to do, that you'll be able to do whatever you feel like doing. And then, it happens! You're a grownup.

Let's go in the park and have an ice cream!
No,you can't because you have a very important deadline tomorrow!

Do the first crazy that comes in your mind!
Grownups think before doing something, come on, don't be a child!

Walk through the rain!
Are you crazy? You can get a cold!

And then you think ....what happened to I can do whatever I wanna do? I wanna be a kid again!
IRONIC, isn't it?

Romania - the land of choice

Yes! It's your choice whether to stay here or move somewhere else. I keep hearing people all around me complaining about how bad things are in Romania. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the people that wants and wishes to move abroad, but while I am here I have a moral duty to try making a difference, no matter how insignificant that may be. Not throwing your chewing gum on the sidewalk after you're done chewing it, picking up the leftovers and the trash you made when you went out for a picnic, asking for a receipt when going to the store on the corner make a difference.
Now, here's the IRONY in this situation. Although they are complaining about how bad things are, most of the people that are doing it do nothing to change the way things are. People just don't care or do not understand that the change starts from the individual and then replicates itself at a larger scale. Their motto is: If he/she is doing it why shouldn't I? What difference am I going to make if the rest are not going to change?
YES... you will make a difference as you will set an example for your children and for the ones close to you, and they will set an example for their children and so on. Make this CHOICE in the land of choice!

Intro..... continued

You might ask how I managed to reach this moment, the moment when I decided to leave all the below mentioned fears away and start the blog... The answer is simple: I DIDN'T! I realised instead that fear and assumptions are the mother of all fuckups and that you will never know if you can succeed or not without trying. Give your best all the time, even in the most insignificant situations, and then, even if you succeeded or not, you'll be able to look back and say: I did my best!
Now for the IRONY lesson of the day..... When you look around you, you see successful people, less successful people, loosers, etc. Now what differentiates a looser/less successful person from the successful one? You might be tempted to say that the successful one is smarter, better looking, his parents had a good financial situation that allowed him to attend the best schools, etc. Yes, you might be right and in the same time you can be sooo wrong. Most of the times it's the ATTITUDE  and SELF CONFIDENCE that make the difference between success and failure. So.... you can be smart, good looking, have a good education and in the same time be the looser. IRONIC, isn't it?

Intro - First words about irony

I've been wanting to start a blog for a few years now, but the following questions have always popped-up: What are you going to write about? Are you going to be good enough? What will people think about your posts?
We will return to these questions a little bit later...
Now, what's with that tittle you would ask? Well, let me explain. I have always been seen as an extrovert, that is always saying what he is thinking, not being afraid about what others might say or think. Aaaand it's time to go back to the first questions.... If I was that guy, why was I having all those questions? Do you see the IRONY?
At a certain point in your life there's a huge difference between who you really are and  who do you prettend to be. It's up to you to reduce the gap between these two different faces of YOU.....