What’s with the Wanderlust? – Now I know, I am half a twixter January 31, 2009
Posted by armina in thoughts.Tags: career, dream job, grow up, twixter, wanderlust
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Today I couldn’t work from objective reasons and I wondered how would life be if i didn’t have this small business of my own. If i would choose to go back to being an employee, what would i want to be?
I thought about the purchasing job offer i received a few days ago, and then i thought about being a project manager somewhere, and until i tried to figure out a country i would like to live in, i starting thinking about going for a Ph.D. to gain myself some time to figure what and where. Then i thought it would be too much learning and most of the companies back in Romania would consider me overqualified – because i would like to live in Romania.
No more studying, so i went for a thought in the opposite extreme…”The best job in the world” campaign…remember? The Island caretaker job for the 600 islands in the Australian reef. It seems there are about 2000 applicants and 2,3 million visitors. A really good promo campaign. If you want to apply, there is still time. Go here.
So I ended up where i never thought i would be – asking myself the wonderful question of childhood: what do i want to be when i will grow up. It is amazing – when i was 20, i knew it, when i was 23 i knew it, now i don’t know anymore. It seems there are so many things to explore and in the end, whatever career i would choose it doesn’t matter, as long as it deals with people, challenges me and there’s a team around.
I couldn’t sleep so i grabbed a beer (which i seldom do) and started searching for the answer on the internet. I bumped into a funny quizz, but as funny as it is, it made me wonder. At least in my case it’s true: i would be a good social worker or an artist (i couldn’t make my mind which picture to choose so i chose two). You should try it, it’s cool: here. You just have to choose your favorite picture and it tells you your inclinations. I kind of knew them but it was fun – and i am not a big fan of quizzes, so…
Then i searched deeper and bumped into an article in TIME. Such a wonderful article. It made me draw the conclusion that i am half a twixter. Twixters are the people between 20 and 30 who don’t seem to want to grow up…or who can’t. I am kind of one of them, too. I don’t know what my dream job would be (i know what i would be good at and what i would like it to include, though), i don’t want to get married yet, i don’t want to make loans. I dream about traveling the world, having a family. I traveled a little, i do have a finace and we are living together…so this makes me half a twixter. Anyways…if it sounds familiar, take some time to read this article: “Grow Up? Not So Fast” – you will find some answers to your questions. (I know the article is 4 years old, but we are behind US so it’s fine, just read it!)
Let’s get lost together January 16, 2009
Posted by armina in dareberry, thoughts.Tags: a kid's life, imagination gardener, life mission, thoughts
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A while ago i finished reading Brida by Coelho. I am not going to praise him – his writing style has good parts and bad parts…whatever. I liked the book a lot. Since then i am sort of under anesthesia. I regained a world i thought i lost – being able to write fantasy stories.
When i was in high school, i used to dream stories and the very next morning i would write them…it felt great and i felt special. not proud or arrogant, just glad i could write nice stories. In university my world crashed for a while (because of a guy) and i couldn’t write anymore (i couldn’t even smile for quite some time)…
It all started in secondary school…I had a literature teacher that made us learn by heart all commentaries for the books we should have read. I tried once to write my own opinion and she hated it so afterwords i just learned whatever she dictated. but no matter how much i would have learned she wouldn’t give more than 7 (out of 10). i disliked her but i tried to do my best in finding explanations for her behavior, finding excuses. In the end i just decided she was almost bald because of how mean she was.
When i got to high school, the first lesson with my literature teacher gave me the impression that this one was awful, too. And the hilarious part in this whole thing, is the fact that i probably have been reading more than all my colleagues together.
So my first moment of rebellion came. I used to be the kind of kid that is too serious for her age, that did all the homework and frightened guys who might have cared for her (i guess i still somehow intimidate guys). I decided that i will not make my homework and piss of the literature teacher. Nobody knew me, so why the hell not…so she asked me, and i stood up and told her i didn’t do my homework. She was pissed off but somehow she liked me. And this is how i started writing and discovered i was talented (at least back then…i have probably lost half of the skills i had…). She insisted that we don’t copy, learn by heart or sometimes even read other people’s commentaries until we have written down our own opinion about a book. So i did it…i started writing my own opinion about the books i read and…it seemed i got talent…
Then came university…i was craving to go for theater acting but did the rational thing…computer science because i didn’t have the guts to believe they could choose me in for a 18 students-class. It was not only the rational thing to go for computer science but also a responsible thing…i would have definitely been able to support myself after graduating. and it also had to do with a softer side…when i was a child i wanted to work for Disney to create those beautiful stories and the pretty animations. i thought computer science should have been the first step. how wrong…
Now is over…graduated 3 years ago. in the meantime i started and almost finished a masters, too. i don’t regret these choices. but i wonder what would have happened if i would have chosen, not computer science, not acting, but literature.
A few days ago i had a dream. It was amazing! i was in this unknown world, it seemed like i was in Zurich, but soo different. there were pretty women on the streets. i was with a guy who’s face i don’t remember, it was a guy i don’t know in the real life. we were walking on the street and more and more women, dressed like in the Indian traditional sari were coming from different directions hurrying in the same direction. We decided to follow them and find out what was happening, where were they going? so we go after them, and we end up at the lake. there were a bunch of colored guys there, dressed in African colorful costumes and dancing in a line near the lake. Most of the women were on the lake-side and one of them was throwing roses in the water. there were 3 ladies in the water…it seemed summer but it looked like they were freezing. one of them went down into the water to bring the drowning roses to the surface. the other two were helping her to catch her breath from time to time. we figured it out that the one that was saving the red roses from drowning, was the bride. there was no groom though…she had to save 3 roses and the damn roses couldn’t flout, and it was getting harder and harder to catch her breath between saving the roses. they were all happy and colorful and it was a majestic happening.
I should have been a literature teacher…though teacher is not the word i am looking for…i should have been the kind of dareberry that shows kids how to be creative, open-minded and unlimited…and still, i would love to be an “imagination gardener”…
are you lost with me yet?…i said “imagination gardener”:)
The “Burn out” or small batteries need to be recharged often November 13, 2008
Posted by armina in dareberry, thoughts.Tags: burn out, low batteries, low energy, mini-retirement
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that’s the dareberry of the day:)
it took me almost 3 weeks from the moment i thought “i need a break” until i actually decided and took action to take this break – i booked 5 days in Prague.
during these last 3 weeks my energy went so low that i got back pains, stomach problems, extremely low productivity (about 35% of the usual) and i started to loose patience with people and i needed much more time to process information and take decisions…all are symptoms of the “burn out disease”
during the last few years i realized that to function well, to have a healthy creativity and to be productive, i need 3-4 days off (maximum 5 days, otherwise it gets boring), away from everything (including Internet access), each 2.5-3 months. A client of mine calls these “mini-retirements”.
my advice for you and the dareberry of the day is this: find out your limit. how long do your batteries last and how long do they need to get recharged again? and …when you know the answer to this question, write it down someplace visible, so you will be able to SEE IT when your batteries are so low that you don’t even realize they are that low… when you get “burn out” you won’t be aware of it!
(it took me almost 3 weeks to realize what’s going on with me)
More on “Burn out” here.
hugs,
A.
Drive safe, stay alive! November 7, 2008
Posted by armina in dareberry, thoughts, Uncategorized.Tags: car crash, drive safe, sadness, youth driving
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The dareberry of today is a bit connected to my fear of getting a driver’s license. I am almost 26 now and i love other means of transportation so much that i don’t feel like learning to drive a car. I am sure i can do it because every time i wanted something, i fought for it and i had it!
The issue is that i don’t feel like i want it. I know it’s useful, and since i will have a car in a few months it will be useful to have a driver’s license, but i don’t feel like it, so today i decided to stop torturing myself in putting me through the drivers’ school and enjoy the trains that i always loved.
In the same time, what triggered this post is a small video on safe driving and safe “car cruising” and so on. It’s horrible but very “impactfull” – smart guys…
So, here it is: Koenntest du damit leben?
I support the Romanian Free Hugs campaign October 28, 2008
Posted by armina in thoughts.Tags: affection, free hugs, lumebuna.ro, the soul of the world
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Starting from the fact that people nowadays have less and less time for affection and dedicate the most of their time to the “rat race”, these guys decided to help them “snap out of it” and mak ethem remember what energy and optimism can come from a simple hug, a free hug from people that care about the soul of this world. Go have one on 30th of October in most of the main cities in Romania.
If you want to find out more about Free Hugs around the world, check this.
Bravo!
Opened to changing everyday in every possible way… October 21, 2008
Posted by armina in dareberry, thoughts, Uncategorized.Tags: change, freedom, life, living the present
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…is the key to living happily the present!
Today, between 14.36 and 15.00 i lived some moments of great happiness and i just felt like writing about them, so here it is:
Today i decided to take the train from Bucharest to Pitesti and not the bus like i usually do. One of the reasons i decided this, is that for me, the train, is the second best place to be in, on this planet (other reasons are the plus of comfort and the price). The first best place is on the mountains, just breathing and wondering how can it be that the snow is so white and the sun so pure, and the third best place is in a green field of grass with crickets around you, admiring the stars with some red wine beside, or…during the day, watching the clouds moving on the sky .
About the present: what can be more beautiful than being in a fast train, sitting on the sunny side, listening to a great song and brainstorming names for your new business idea? What can express more freedom than this? Space and time just vanish, every blood vessel feels the speed and Sennheiser gives you a special sound quality for Cranberries’ songs. Endorphins are in the air 
Who says that life sucks?
Such a bad quote…
Traveling through people October 1, 2008
Posted by armina in thoughts.Tags: discovery, diversity, life, traveling
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The dareberry of the day is about discovering yourself while discovering others.
“Traveling through people” is an expression i heard from a friend of mine, a few years ago. What it actually means, is that wherever you are, you can travel! You can travel while sitting on a chair in a coffee place or while hanging-standing in the underground as long as you meet new people and get interested in knowing them.
Since i came to Romania i met quite a few people while traveling and they helped me cristalise my thoughts and the talks with them were useful in deciding on staying or leaving Romania.
- I met an expert accountant in the plane – she was upset about her salary and she seemed very well prepared in her profession. Indirectly she advised me to leave Romania if i have the chance and also gave me some tips on what type of company i should start if i want to make money in Romania. It made me realize that for some people is easier to advise others what to do to improve their lives than to actually improve their owns.
- I met a family guy who worked in the textile industry on the way to Sibiu – we started talking and he was asking me about the life in the Western Europe. I answered all his questions and in the end he told me he was going to Sibiu to have an interview for a job in Spain. It made me remember that is easier to let others decide for you when is hard to take a decision. If the guys would say “yes, you are suitable to work in construction in Spain” he would go, if not, no. I asked him about his family and he was so resignated that they would not see each other, and that it was fine to miss each other as long as he was earning more. I asked him if he ever thought about investing the money he was planning to spend on the bus ticket to Spain, on some courses, to specialize in something else than textiles.
- I met an ex-military man, in the train to Brasov – a retired guy who was missing the communism and praising Iliescu. He was curious to understand if i was the “old style girl” or not – for the sake of the conversation i prefered to let him believe i was the “old style girl” – happy with my education, listening to my parents, looking forward to marry a nice guy. He was happy to assume all these and got more opened. He told me how he an his wife never had children because they wanted to live their lives, how he traveled a lot and saw some weapon factories and so on and so on…typical stories from the communist era. The discovery was that him and his wife had big pensions and he said they never manage to spend all the money so they keep it in the bank…how sad…so very sad…there are so many old people that live extremly modest and…i will definitely have kids!
- There was this guy who stopped when he saw me walking on a country road, going towards Paraul Rece. He was working in the area and he asked me how he could help me. I don’t know what was in his mind at first, but i could have used a drive so i said i could use a drive to my destination. He was very polite and told me his story after i told him what i was doing walking on that road. This was the first convincing, not-complaining person i met in Romania. I think it was not because of his life or his job, necesarly, but because he loved driving and traveling around the country and his job offered him this. Later on, when i took a cab in Bucharest and i met this really opened driver who told me the story of his life (50 years of living in Bucharest after moving there from Satu Mare…2 kids, one married, one a seargeon, his wife, his home city that his family left behind when he was 3, the big villa his “cuscrii” had etc.) i realised that people that like to drive and have the chance to do this, are really happy, communicative and chearful!
- Then there was this girl in the train to Iasi – she was about my age, and left Romania to go to work in Italy, imediately after she finished high-school. This was 7 years ago. Since then, she earn quite some money and realised how Italians really are in their relations with Romanians, met a nice guy in one of her holidays in Romania, saw a piece of Europe, and decided to come back. She was a bit scared that she might not reintegrate, who will hire her? But she saw what it means to live in a foreign country and she saw that money can not compensate the sadness and loneliness…and she came back…like me…just that for me 3 years were enough…
- Then i met an art student on the way to Bucharest – he was so convinced he could never work anywhere. he was working as a graphic deisgner in a 4 people company with his friends and he was happy about it. See, not everybody needs to be a CEO for 40000 people to be happy. I am glad this kind of people exist. We really need this diversity! And i am part of it too…
There were more…about 7-8 more…and the result was amazing. I discovered myself while listening to them, i let them discover themselves to me and i found out what i want…so i’m staying:)
hugs,
A
I am back and I am glad… September 15, 2008
Posted by armina in thoughts.Tags: home
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It’s been a while:)
I came back to Romania and i am glad i am here. Besides the fact that “there’s nowhere like home”, i believe this is the country of all possibilities for the ones who have the balls to try to knock down the shepherds and take their lives in their own hands. I know this doesn’t sound nice in English…when i say “shepherd” i am thinking at “ciobani” who, in my imagination are associated with “patron” – please be careful, not manager but “patron”! I guess all Romanians have worked for a shepherd at a certain moment.
But, i was talking about the balls. What i like here is the fact that we have irony, we like and understand sarcasm, and if you train yourself a little you can ignore the “24/7 complainers” – those people that complain about anything and everything and blame stuff on others…what else…i have met about 70 beautiful people since i came…in 10 days. Guess how many i met in Italy, or in Switzerland or in Germany…all in total, for 3 years will not surpass my fingers and my toes…
Italians were drooling after me because even though i am not beautiful, i look much better (and i have more style in choosing cloths) than the average Italians, Germans were totally dumb and closed minded, Swisses were fun, smiley and planned…so planned that sometimes they killed themselves…actually they seem to have the highest suicide rate all over Europe. The last 3 years were great years but the last 10 days were even better.
Though i guess that these 10 days would have never been so great if before them i wouldn’t have spent 3 years in these countries…
Who’s a leader and who’s not? August 8, 2008
Posted by armina in thoughts.Tags: Africa, bono, hitler, leaders, leadership, leadership training, TED
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I am preparing a 5 days training on leadership and of course i want to make it dynamic and challenge people’s opinions, have a discussion on what means leadership and who can be considered a leader and who can not…and how can you make the difference.
There are many types of leadership but one of the common characteristics that all have is “The ability to affect human behavior so as to accomplish a mission” (wikipedia). Hitler did this. Was he a leader? Take a look at some of his speeches on YouTube – and put some thought in it. Even an article in TIME magazine debates this.
On the other hand, is Bono a leader? Well…he is admired but i didn’t manage to find any article to “declare” him so.
I love his speech from TED when he calls for action to help Africa. He moves people and is genuine.
His organization changes lives and fights for Africa.
After listening to his speech and browsing through the ONE website, what do you think? Is he a leader?
He was “the man of the year” in 2005, but is he more?
This is not a classic dareberry…is just a thought of mine regarding the training i am preparing…
