marți, 20 octombrie 2015

Randomization....on cowardice

We all have a penchant for suffering, for stress, for making our lives more complicated than they should really be. When we're feeling o.k., secure, loved;  we're wondering why is that, or how is it possible; when we're not....just the same.
I understand everybody's need to feel a little suffering, it is absolutely normal; it makes us feel alive; I'm no exception to that rule; but when that melancholia starts to get the best of me I start kicking and screaming and run like hell.
I'm really not the one to preach, as I tend to hover over things, and it takes me a period equal to forever to take a decision; but once I decide on something, there's no turning back.
I admire people who see what they want, or whom they want, and just put themselves out there, vulnerable at times, and grab for the object or person of their desire. There's no place for cowards in my philosophy of life; and cowardice often actually means a weakness of character. Any woman will tell you that she prefers a straightforward man to a coward. It is flattering to show a woman that you want her; but your indecisiveness will drive her away, away to another man's arms. And quickly; because we're not known as the most patient of our species...
On the other hand, it is the duty of a woman (I sounded just so Austen-like; didn't I? :) ) to encourage, up to an extent, the intentions of a man she admires. I find it inadmissible to encourage a man just for sport; just how I find it disgusting to hold on to a man whom has had enough of you. Yes, we're not all lucky in our choices of men; but holding on to him for dear life doesn't make us any more lovable. At best, we achieve his pity; at worst, he will end up despising us. Although, I kind of feel that there's a certain amount of despise in pity as well....
Furthermore, when the object of interest is hesitating; I see two choices: either try or give up. It is not a shame to try; but it is a shame to try over and over again, until you exhaust all hope. In love and war everything is allowed, up to a point; after which there's no return from the path of shame. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of going that way; as experience has taught me that if it's not going the second or third time; it wont. It will absolutely and undeniably not work! So it's better to save yourself some heartache and shame and all together give up in due time.
To be a second option is no option at all. And to humiliate yourself won't get you anywhere, except in the land of utter disappointment and regret. Of course I'm speaking from experience, and I'm curious if there's any woman out there who hasn't been through this same experience as I did.
Actually, it is very simple; we only like to complicate our lives as much as possible. I know that what I'm about to say may sound pragmatic to the bone; but there is plenty of fish in the sea. And if the first one doesn't hook, there's always the next. As most women in my situation, I am very romantic; so excuse me if I believe in a match...not necessarily a perfect one; but as perfect as possible; with a guy respecting and caring for your well being and safety. Because that's what we, women, are all about.
Life can be beautiful, and it is our own choice and our willpower that will do the rest. And time. Time can heal any wound. Just wait and see...
Bisous!


miercuri, 30 septembrie 2015

what to read this month?

Sometimes, just to remember where I'm coming from, I like to look over my old articles...and then it hits me: what is today wasn't yesterday, but maybe it will be tomorrow. One thing though  remains constant: I love books. Be it romance, fantasy, science, history or science-fiction, I love them all; and read all kind of crazy stuff.
However, there is a constant love out there, transparent all the time: the love for children books. I loved them since my infancy, I will worship them until the day I'll close my eyes forever. These books were the gates that opened my eyes to the world, made me understand that reading could take me places I couldn't even dream otherwise.
There was nothing quite like a new storybook, received as a gift from my parents, I would stare at it for hours, gently touch it, read it over and over again. When I'll have my own kinds I will gift them books, and secretly watch their reaction... if they will react as I once did, then it's true, children are addictive to the same things as their parents; and I will be truly proud of my inheritance.
A book is an item of worship, a small universe among so much uninteresting reality, a piece of blue heaven on a stormy cold day; the door to a parallel universe; available only for those ready to open their inner eye.
But, returning to my first book love: storybooks, I still have to admit that, as long as I can hold a silly- drawing, enchanting-named and crazy-colored book, life will never be dull, uninteresting or sad for that matter. This small piece of paper can be a time machine every time I open one, taking me back to my silly carefree childhood, and I love every minute of wonder; as I still open them with feverish eyes, trembling hands and wonderous curiosity.
So yes, although I'm already a grown-up, when it comes to books, my heart is still that of a child, finding great joy in beautifully colored books, with short texts, which might seem easy to understand, even boring at times, but having a whole different meaning when your heart is pure and not yet corrupted.
I do believe this helps me never loose my sense of direction, I will thus always know where I'm coming from, and what kind of adult I will want to become.
So yes, October is the perfect month to read stories, either for adults, or for kids, just nourish the small kid inside you, shake off the dust of the years, widely open your eyes and breath in the beautiful colors of autumn, as great books are, just like us, made of stardust....
Bisous,
Ana

marți, 25 august 2015

Fall is coming.......

And you will see that I'm back, more inspired than ever! I can feel the chilled air moving my brain, resurrecting it to life from the drowsy stupor it lingered in during the hot summer...melancholia once again starts to stretch her arms over me, protecting me from the world outside...while my outside shell is mechanically going through its daily human and petty tasks; my inner conscience is slowly awoken by all the beauty laying on the world once fall is drawing near...

source: google images


Ah! Fall...glorious Fall! My soul has been waiting for you! my eyes have been waiting to feast on all your luxurious colors!

source: google images

Books tempt me daily, weigh on my soul; I would curl up in a dark place, with only but a flicker of a candle, and read...read....read! Mists and shadows, that is what I'm yearning for...cold and damp outside my window...so that I can chase the cold feeling away with a cat on my lap...sipping on some red dry wine or green  tea....



Ah, if only.....


Bisous!

luni, 29 iunie 2015

Never too far...

Somewhere, out there, you know...I exist...
Sometimes....very often...I think of you....
Something....is always on my mind... you....
Somewhere...is the place we could be together....just us...
Sometimes ...I could even believe we are real...us...
Something ...is never gonna change though....you...me....
Somewhere...we'll still try to get close...to each other...
Sometimes...we will get very close...and burn...
Something...our lives....will always be so different...
Somewhere...out there..our lives met...in another time...
Sometimes...I believe in you and me...
Something...whispers to me " It's just a dream..."
Somebody....will always stay....between us....



Bisous!

joi, 14 mai 2015

lazyness...

I have this quote glued to my office monitor:

which should remind me that I need to work hard and long in order to make some of my dreams come true. At least some of them, as many will never come true probably. Not due to their impossibility, but due to my laziness, I guess. For example, two dreams are dear to me, but will probably never come true: I would love to be a writer, but I'm too lazy and like my life too much in order to isolate myself and really write. Although I know down inside that I can. I just lack the determination. And second, I would love to be a librarian, but I know that that job has a lousy pay, so I cannot afford to do it; as I need my money in order to enjoy all my other hobbies...
I love staying up late, but then the next day I'm too exhausted to do my job, let alone write something creative; and the little energy I've got I spend at this desk, earning my bread by solving all kind of problems that at the end of the day leave me dry as bone and about just as creative as a rock. I know I might be suffering from a Faustian illusion, but I truly feel that I am driven by my ambition to sell my soul to the devil for money, rather than be happy.
But one must ride, must eat and drink, right? Wondering why I put them in this order? Because there are just two things that I love better than riding (either a steel or a flesh and blood horse!), and those are reading and writing, but these two I have to shove back in line.
It's also strange how easy words come to my fingers, so to say, as I haven't been writing a single line (except boring office stuff) for a few months now, and this is my true ice breaker. I've been opening a new page on this blog for at least 10 times until now, but each and every time, I would close it without actually writing something. And I used to be good, I used to be inspired by anything. I could just open my folder of "lovely things", with beautiful photos of all sorts and I would start writing like a shotgun.
I've read somewhere toady that writing everyday makes you a writer, not necessarily writing good stuff. I agree and don't agree with this at the same time. I don't agree because I've seen so many awfull emails in my life that I whish at times to kill people for the single fact that they are murdering languages; either Romanian or English, or French, or German, it doesn't matter.
And I've seen materials written by people whom pour their entire soul into the text, but I don't quite get to touch that soul, and although I know I should be moved, I have to say I cannot resonate to their tune.  That is a real problem for me, as I am a firm believer that you do not write only with your head, but most of all with your soul. And it is simple, if the person who reads what I've been writing doesn't get a small feeling of my soul from it; then I haven't done my job right. Then again, I must be the problem for not feeling the soul behind somebody's writing.....
Returning to my idea of laziness, I must be some kind of perfectionist, if I don't want to write if I have nothing to write with my soul, as well as with my mind. The mind is needed in order to write correctly, respect all the rules of good and correct writing, while the soul is the one that gives the spark to the text. I'll write about shoes with just as much passion as about a good book, just as long as I feel the passion for the shoes. Ok, even I've got a limit, and that would be writing about purses....I find them annoyingly non-important, and people give them so much attention! I would prefer a linen tote at absolutely any time, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own share of bags, they are just a little bit on the crazy side and rarely used...(see? I can write about them too!).
One subject I love, but am too lazy to write even about it is food. However lazy, I have gathered  a pretty amount of photos to post on my food blog (my raw path) , and I intend to do that too. I just hope my brain is rested enough to write there too, provided that this ice-breaker works...
And there's one more thing I love to do: walk in the forest, under beautiful old trees, watch up often, see the sun streaks, listen to the birds chirp...but of course, you can read in the forest, eat, or just as well stay and relax...so I usually combine them; and if I can pick flowers of herbs, or even berries along the way, it's even dreamier.
And I love music...I love it so much that at times it hurts, and it always depends on my mood what I'm about to listen. However, there's one genre that will never make me wrinkle my nose, and that is classical music. I was listening to an aria  in the morning in my office, and a colleague said I was special because I could listen to it at such an early hour. But then I just realized I could listen to such music at any hour of the day or night, without feeling that I don't like it. Does that make me a snob or just a weird person? I don't know, but I am a reading, writing, eating, drinking and hiking biker...so why not a classical music -listening one too?And if I started this post with a photo from my office, I will end it the same way:
with the flowers received from my colleague this morning. They smell heavenly, and have brightened my cage a little....

With the promise to write more, soon:

Bisous!




joi, 22 ianuarie 2015

The return of the Dandy

It's been a few weeks now since I saw Beau Brummel, a really really interesting movie:

and I finally understood how the English and any other nation for that matter got rid of the powdered wig and excessive make-up; especially when speaking about men. We know all, however, that with women there's entirely another story.

Well, if you do not find the inclination, or if you just don't have the time to watch the whole movie; I will say that it is basically the story of the main character, an influential friend of the King George of Britain, who has a flawless style in fashion and is the first one to brake the ice and let go of the awful (I must say) fashion of those days. Complete with a delightful nude portrait of one of my favorite actors - James Purefoy- the British gentlemen take style lessons from Beau and thus learn how to impeccably groom themselves and wear wonderful white shirts and black suits.

Recent not so exotic events in my humble experience have made me look around at our modern man, and I just couldn't stop and wonder if maybe the Dandy has returned, but in a manner characteristic to our own age and time.
If you'll pay just a little attention to most of our young men, let's say between 16 and 25, we will find out that recently they have their hair very well groomed, with elaborate coiffures:
so if you ladies out there thought that you're the only ones losing your precious time on the hair stylist's chair, think again. Don't fret, though, since it looks like their coiffures are more elaborate then our own, but they are also fewer than us; so we might still have a chance.

I think I don't have to accentuate very much the fact that the number of men who wax and have their eyebrows plucked is increasing as we speak....

Speaking purely of their aspect; and while I am completely going to avoid the behavioral issues; I am last talking about clothing. Here the age range is way larger; and men have always been preoccupied with their looks; but it seems to me that there are more and more, and even teenagers and young men fall now in that same category.

borrowed picture of Mr. Jamie Campbell Bower from mortalinstruments.org
Forgotten are the days of the long t-shirts and baggy trousers, now we get to see more derriere than we would really care to. However, I'm not going to be hypocrite and say that it displeases me entirely. When well put together, a pair of tight jeans will look awesome, even though I might watch them with a pang of jealousy. Because yes, many guys will look better than we do, my dear girls, sorry to burst your bubble...

 So, am I wrong? isn't this the return of the Dandy? Just to make a point, I've even looked it up in the dictionary:
dandy
ˈdandi/
noun
  1. 1.
    a man unduly concerned with looking stylish and fashionable.
    So, I guess I'm not really that far off; and of course I can't stop wondering how women like their men nowadays. I, for one, believe that a little bit of polish ( :D ) never did anyone any harm.    

    Bisous!

marți, 13 ianuarie 2015

Greek Mythology reinvented....or "The Goddess Test" Series by Aimee Carter

      During the course of our lives, we come to meet hundreds of people, sometimes we like them and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we remain friends forever, sometimes we argue and go on our way, and at times they pass us by unnoticed...
      Partly through our families, through school, through our jobs and last through our interests or hobbies like we use to call them, we come to understand people, and see how they change, evolve or devolve throughout their lives; all we have to do is be attentive. People change throughout their lives, what used to impress and interest them during childhood or young adult days might no longer be interesting on the long run. This is the natural course of our lives, and we go with the flow, even if we do not want it; often not even realizing we have changed substantially over the years.
      I haven't been modest about my "hunger" for reading anytime and with every chance I got. This space is not much different from my real life, what you see here is exactly how I am in real life; as I have one priority, and that is to live as intensively as I can, and reading gives me that something extra that's always keeping me on edge, making me want more. (how geek-ish that sounds, right? ) And I have not changed much along the years when it comes to this. As I used to read books that were too difficult to me when I was little, now I tend towards easier ones, sometimes alternating with material of insight, requiring more thought and understanding than usual. However, my taste in subjects hasn't changed that much along the way, we could say it only broadened, still encompassing what I used to like, but adding more to it with every new exploration in the world of the written word.
One of my first loves as a child, when it comes to books of course, was a book named The Legends and the Heroes of Ancient Greece, and this love will surely not fade away with time; as I still enjoy every new interpretation of these themes. I used to read and re-read all the books that I could get my hands on, and once I've discovered the wonderful world of internet movies, I couldn't stop watching every movie and every new or old variation on the theme.
By simple chance I stumbled upon a new series of books last summer, The Goddess Test Series, and the first book really caught me in the action:



It is such a nice experience to see that old stories come back to life, under the skilled pen of a modern author, who not only brings a breath of fresh air to this old subject, but by doing so she attracts the young public, making their acquaintance with the old myths, whom they would otherwise maybe never be attracted to.
A young girl (best possible heroine - to- be, right?)comes back to her native town with her sick mother, wanting to dedicate herself to the last few months her mother still has to live; but meets a strange and dark boy (who other than her lover-to-be, right?). She is surprised, to say the least, that he has "special powers" and bit by bit falls in love with him. It turns out that these powers come from him being a Greek God, but I'm not going to spoil it for the ones who want to read the books, they just have to find out for themselves; or read about the books on another site. I like my stories to be fresh, surprising, and the worst you can do is spoil the action for me.
Anyway, the second book in the series is :



and it brings Castor and Pollux on the front stage. Packed with action, this book gives you the thrills just by the dynamism of the story, our heroine, Kate Winters is already finding herself married with the powerful god in the first book, but she helps the twins above get away from her mysterious, sad and beautiful husband..... and I will say no more!

Next book,

 

brings the Titans into the limelight! Like I said before, these books are all about the action, dynamism makes you want to devour as many pages as possible, and even though the subject has been filmed and written on for so many times; Aimee Carter still manages somehow to give it such vitality that I was really surprised and impressed at the same time.
The beautiful and mysterious hubby is kidnapped by the only one who can do it: the King of the Titans (how well are you doing in Mythology? who was he...?? should I tell you...??) ...well... Cronus of course (the one who ate his and his wife Rhea's children, remember?); but yet again, I will only divulge that more and more gods get involved in the action, while Kate has to prove again and again how devoted she is to her hubby.



Risking to sound to corny, I have to yet again praise the choices Aimee Carter made when writing these books. If she had put this action in the first book, surely she would have lost a great deal of the suspense and intrigues, but bringing up the action that had happened before the action of the first book in this one, right before the last books of the series, was really a wonderful twist of action.
Managing to link the action from the first books to the characters of the gods as we know them from the initial Legends; like Aphrodite's unfaithfulness to her husband, Zeus' cheating on Hera with every chance he got, Hermes being the real god of lies that we have come to know from the legends of our childhood, and so many other details that give these books extra points from me, makes me just want to recommend the series as a fresh take on a very often reinterpreted subject.

Last of the series:



 Inheritance takes us a nudge further into the new-created story, as Carter raises the stakes in the action of her books, gets Kate pregnant and so much more, but this is also to be read by those who liked the previous books, not wanting to be the one that spoils all the fun for them.

With a love story in the  foreground, and the Greek mythology as a background, these books are surely recommendable to teenagers; but I really don't see why an adult person could not enjoy a little bit of easy action, and let himself or herself be surprised by the creativity of the author in the nice plot of the series. After all, reading is meant to be fun, right?

Wishing to all those that I've managed to convince a great reading, and fulfilling my duty as a correct blogger, I would only like to add that all the photos above belong to Amazon.com, they are even linked to that site, one click away. 

Bisous!



luni, 12 ianuarie 2015

of new beginnings...

It's been a while...

Only I know how many times I've opened this page..starting with a few words, then hit the Delete button...
Not because I didn't have anything to say (because I always have something to say!), but because I needed a change. That's why I changed the aspect of this blog, because I needed a change; it didn't inspire me anymore. Not being inspired by something means, in my vision, having to change to something else, something fresh, and new and inviting...and throwing out the old things that didn't stimulate anymore. Kind of selfish, I know, but that's the only way to move forward for me.
And what better time to start afresh, then in January?  I can think of no better, or more inspiring setting.
So, let's start again on this journey, with renewed forces and fresh ideas, brushing aside all that's dull and uninteresting, annoying and unpleasant. Let's remember what we truly love and whom we truly want to be, and work in that direction, looking back just in order to see further more clearly and to know which path to take.
So, let's put a step in front of the other....
source: www.rideasia.net
and step on the bridge....we have no idea where it will lead us, or how the journey will end...but we'll be taking on life...one step at a time.

Bisous!