Saturday, October 30, 2010

Ghiciti ce am facut de ziua mea?

Da, m-am imbatat! Asta pe langa faptul ca am pregatit un tort si am facut un pic pe gazda (testand capacitatea camerei mele, caci nu avem sufragerie). Dar partea cea mai trista e ca asta s-a intamplat chiar daca am baut o cafea tare (acum doi ani, cand eram in Berlin, obisnuiam sa beau palinca pe rol de aperitiv) inainte de inceperea 'festivitatilor', care au constat in cateva bauturi la mine acasa, urmate de o iesire in club. Cu parere de rau, nu pot sa imi amintesc daca am ajuns, intr-un final, in clubul in care voiam sa mergem, Mittwoch (caci si-a schimbat locatia intre timp) sau intr-unul oarecare. Si, pe bune, chiar nu eram atata de turmentata miercuri seara (desi foarte obosita), insa mi se intampla uneori sa nu imi pot aminti multe detalii a doua zi.

Ah, si da, nu am luat degeaba 'Merit' pentru Master, dupa cum spuneam Daniel m-a invitat la el acasa, iar Kaisa era acolo, intr-un fel de vizita de serviciu (foarte bine sincronizata, de altfel), exact asa cum banuiam! Instinctele mele detective nu ma inseala niciodata! :) Am mancat foundue cu branza si strudel de mere, am baut vin (Busuioaca de Bohotin chiar) si a fost, intr-adevar, ca in vremurile bune...

Numai ca nu prea am reusit sa dorm pe cat ar fi trebuit in perioada asta. Miercuri noapte, spre exemplu, am poposit acasa la Mihai (ca sa nu mai astept un autobuz care nu stiam exact cand/daca vine), care a fost un gentleman si mi-a oferit patul lui, iar el a dormit pe canapea in sufragerie. Joi dimineata, insa, noroc cu Mihai ca s-a trezit la 09:15 (si pe mine, in consecinta), caci la 09:30 trebuia sa fiu la birou. Bine ca s-au inventat telefoanele mobile! Chiar daca Mihai avea zi libera joi, nici el nu a stat prea bine la capitolul managementul timpului, caci tot la 09:30 trebuia sa fie la aeroport, sa o ia pe Nicoleta, venita in vizita din Anglia...

Si tot joi am avut petrecerea de Halloween la ICD si se pare ca startea de mahmureala m-a inspirat grozav, caci am improvizat o tinuta foarte tare, dupa cum mi s-a spus: aveam deja o rochie neagra, am cumparat o bluza cu maneca lunga, tot neagra, pe care am purtat-o pe dedesubt, o esarfa neagra din dantela brodata si un suport (un bol mic) cu o lumanare. Am mai adaugat un machiaj negru "scurs" si am iesit o vaduva reusita! Cand nu radeam mi s-a spus ca era foarte inficosatoare. Maine avem de gand sa mergem intr-un club (luni e zi libera la munca) si sa serbam cum se cuvine Halloween-ul, asa ca o sa 'reproduc' tinuta, cu ceva imbunatariri sper.

Aseara am 'dezertat' de la orice activitati sociale si am adormit pe la ora 21:00, m-am trezit apoi in toiul noptii, dar am reusit sa adorm din nou in cateva ore, pana azi pe la pranz...Sper sa mai recuperez orele de somn pierdute zilele astea, caci week-end-ul viitor se anunta hardcore, dar nu precum miercurea si joia asta, cand macar am petrecut....

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Guess What I Did On My Birthday?

Yes, I got drunk!!! And I also prepared a cake and tested the capacity of my room (because we don't have a living). But the saddest part is that this happened after having a strong coffee (two years before, when I was living in Berlin, I used to have palinca as a starter) before the 'festivities' began - which consisted of hosting some drinks in my place and then going out to a club. Unfortunately, I can't really remember if we reached the club where I wanted to go, Mittwoch (they changed the location) or just a random one. And really now, I wasn't that drunk then but it happens to me sometimes that I can't really remember some details the next day.
Oh, yeah, there is a reason for which I got a 'Merit' for my Master's degree: as I was saying, Daniel invited me over for dinner, and Kaisa was there (on a very well synchronised business trip), exactly how I was suspecting! My detective instincts do not fail me! :) We had cheese fondue and apple strudel, we had wine (a Romanian one) and it was like "in the good ol' days" indeed...

The only this is that I didn't manage to sleep as much as I should of have during these days. On Wednesday night, for instance, I slept in Mihai's place (otherwise I would have had to wait for a bus I don't know for how long), who was a true gentleman and offered me his bed and he slept in the living room. On Thursday morning, luckily Mihai woke up (and me also) at 09:15 and I was supposed to be in the office at 09:30! I am so glad someone invented cellphones! Even though Mihai had a day off, he was also supposed to be at the airport at 09:30, to pick up his girlfriend, Nicoleta, who came to visit from England...

On Thursday we also had the Halloween party at the ICD and it seems that my hangover stated has been of a great inspiration to me, because I improvised a very cool outfit (as I have been told): I had a black strapless dress, I bought a long sleeved blouse (black as well) which I wore underneath, a black lace shawl and a small candle thingie. I added some black 'crying' make up and I got a very spooky widow! When I wasn't laughing I have been told that I looked very creepy. Tomorrow we are planning on going to a club (we have Monday off) to properly celebrate Halloween, so I'll recreate the look, with some improvements I hope..

Last night I 'deserted' from any social activities and I fell asleep around 21:00, I woke up in the middle of the night, but I managed to get back to sleep in a couple of hours, until today, around noon...I hope to recover the sleeping hours that I lost these days, because next week-end will be hardcore, but not like this Wednesday and Thursday, when we at least partied....

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Sunday, October 24, 2010

In Carusel

Stiu, stiu, nu sunt cea mai activa prezenta in blogosfera in ultima vreme, dar nici daca as fi fost platita pentru asta nu as fi reusit sa scriu ceva. Cum in Berlin mereu se intampla ceva, e pacat sa spui nu unor invitatii de socializare...


Imi place foarte mult camera in care stau acum, cu toate ca nu petrec prea mult timp in ea. Spre exemplu, saptamana trecuta am iesit in fiecare seara, ba la film ('The Social Network', filmul Facebook-ului), ba la opera (mai neconventionala,ce-i drept - opera taiwaneza -, dar cu multe persoane importante din Asia), ba la un eveniment ICD. Cam aceeasi schema am aplicat-o si saptamana asta care tocmai se incheie, numai ca am reusit sa profit vreo 2 (maxim 3) seri de intimitatea camerei mele. Am ajuns si la muzeu, desi am aflat, cu parere de rau, ca de acum incolo joia nu mai este intrare gratuita in 16 muzee si galerii de arta berlineze (dar nu ma deranjeaza sa platesc aprox. 5€ pt ceea ce vad, cum ar fi Brancusi, 'Pasarea'), am avut si o cina internationala la birou (vineri seara), unde am trisat de 2 ori: am cumparat sarmale de la turci si am spus ca eu le-am facut (dar mamaliga a fost 'autentica') si m-am prefacut ca sunt spaniola si am pregatit tortilla de patatas.

Urmeaza multe pe lista si saptamana urmatoare: Daniel m-a invitat la cina la el acasa, desi el nu gateste (!), dar mi-a spus ca vor fi mai multe persoane si ca va fi "ca in vremurile bune" (romani, mi se pregateste ceva, sunt convinsa!); miercuri e ziua mea si pregatesc o iesire intr-un club (numit 'Miercuri' - Mittwoch - si deschis doar Miercurea), plus niste bauturi inainte, la mine acasa; joi vom avea petrecerea de Halloween (stiu, e foarte devreme), si cum institutul este la origine american, se pune mare accent pe asta, mai ales pe costume (iar eu nu am nici macar idee cand voi avea timp sa ma ocup si de asta)...Asa ca intr-un fel abia astept sambata viitoare (deja!), pt ca stiu ca atunci va fi singura mea ocazie sa dorm!

La 'serviciu'totul e in regula, in ultimele 3 saptamani am tot vorbit la telefon, sunand diverse universitati, institutii si organizatii (initial din Romania, apoi Croatia, Danemarca si Marea Britanie), pt a le spune de evenimentul din noiembrie (si pt a ii invita, logic). Asta cu toate ca acum sunt in alta echipa, USA Meets Europe, al carui eveniment se va desfasura in ianuarie, in Washington si New York (dar momentan nu am nici o garantie ca o sa merg acolo). In rest, momentan lucrez 8 ore pe zi, sper ca mai incolo voi face ture doar de 6 ore, caci vreau sa incep si niste cursuri de germana. Astept insa sa treaca evenimentul din noiembrie, cand toata lumea din organizatie trebuie sa fie activa si disponibila. Pt asta chiar am fost rugata (mai mult aproape obligata) sa fi fiu sofer (adica sa iau invitatii de la aeroport, sa ii duc la hotem s.a.m.d.), dar am precizat ca nu am mai condus de 3 ani, asa ca voi fi doar co-pilot. Ceea ce nu imi displace, caci voi reusi sa mai stau de vorba cu invitatii (sigur eu si Mihai o sa ii 'recuperam' pe Emil Constantinescu si Vasile Puscas) si chiar ma gandesc sa imi fac niste carti de vizita cu ocazia asta...Sper ca am ce sa scriu pe ele, mai ales ca acum am aflat ca am obtinut 'Merit' pentru Master (adica 2.1 in Anglia), ceea ce nu ia chiar oricine...Aplauze, va rog! :)

Pentru ca vineri mi-am uitat incarcatorul de la laptop la birou (si nu mi-am dat seama mai devreme, caci puteam sa il iau cand am fost la cina internationala) si timpul de care dispun este limitat, trebuie sa ma opresc aici. Noroc ca am un frate technology-obsessed, care mi-a dat o baterie nou-nouta (asta pe langa laptopul in sine, cu imprumut!), caci altfel nu mai scriam nimic...Ar mai fi probabil 3465736356 de lucruri pe care nu le-am mentionat, dar dupa cum vi-ati dat seama probabil, viata mea este acum extrem de intensa, cateodata parca as privi prin ochii altcuiva...Incerc sa nu regret faptul ca nu dorm atat de mult pe cat mi-as dori (adica 8 ore in fiecare noapte, fara exceptie), sunt nca tanara (cel putin pana saptamana urmatoare) si imi permit :) Dar, da, e ciudat sa ai un serviciu (sau ceva asemanator, in cazul meu), sa te trezesti dimineata devreme si sa incerci sa ai si o viata sociala, sa scapi de rutina acasa-birou-acasa. Doar ca martea trecuta, cand m-am trezit mi-am dat seama ca ar fi ideal daca nu as lucra niciodata in viata :)



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In a Carussel

I know, I know, I haven't been the most active person in the blogosphere lately, and I don't think I can perform better, even if I would get paid for doing this. And since in Berlin there is always something going on, it would be such a pity to pass some invitations to socialise...

I really love my current room, although I'm not spending too much time in it. For instance, last week I went out every evening, either to the cinema ('The Social Network', the Facebook film), either to the opera (a bit unconventional - Taiwanese opera - and with a lot of important persons from Asia), either to an ICD event. This week I kinda had the same 'routine', although I actually managed to take advantage of my room's privacy for 2 (maximum 3 nights). I went to a museum, but I sadly found out that from now on there is no more free entrance for 16 Berliner museums and art galleries on Thursday evenings (but I really do not mind paying around 5 € for what I could get, such as Brancusi's 'Bird'). We also had an international dinner party at the office (last Friday) and I actually cheated twice:"I bought 'sarmale' from a Turkish shop and I said that I made them myself (at least the 'polenta' was for real) and I pretended to be Spanish and I cooked tortilla de patatas.

There is more to come: Daniel invited me to dinner to his place, although he doesn't cook (!), but he said there will be more people and just like 'the good old days' (there is something going on, I have this feeling); on Wednesday it's my B-Day and I would like to go out in Mittwoch (a club open only on Wednesdays, as it's name suggests) and also to have some drinks in mine's in beforehand. On Thursdays we'll be having the Halloween party (since the institute has been originally founded in the US). So somehow I am very much looking forward to next Saturday already, because I know this will be the first occasion to have a proper sleep!

At work everything is quite OK, for the past 3 week I have been mostly on the phone, calling various universities and organisations in Romania, Croatia and The UK, in order to inform them about our event in November (and to invite them over, obviously). All this despite the fact that I swapped teams, I work for USA Meets Europe team now, who's event is going to take place in January, but in Washington and New York (although for the moment I have no guarantee that I'll be going there). Other than that, I am working 8 hours a day, on a daily basis, but I hope that soon I'll be doing 6 hours shifts, because I would like to start some German classes. I think this would happen after the event in November, when everyone has to be available during those days. For this event I have been asked to be a driver (to pick up people form the airport, to take them to the hotel etc), but I said that I haven't drove for 3 years now, so in the end I'll be a co-pilot :) Which is not that bad, because I'll actually have the chance to talk to the guests (I'm sure that me and Mihai will pick up Emil Constantinescu and Vasile Puscas, the two Romanian guests) and I'm actually thinking of making some business cards. I hope that I can write something on them, especially since now I found out that I got 'Merit' for my Master (that's a 2.1 in the UK), which is a bit better than the average :) Applause, please!

Last Friday I forgot the laptop charger in the office (and I didn't realise it on time, I could have got it back when I went for the international dinner) and my time was limited, hence the delay in translation. Luckily I have a technology-obsessed brother and he gave me a brand new battery. I think there are a gazillion thinks which I haven't mentioned, but my life here is so intense, sometimes I feel like I'm looking through someone else's eyes. I try not to regret the fact that I am lacking sleep a lot, I am still young and I can afford it :) But it's so weird to have a job (or something similar, in my case), to wake up early in the morning and to try to have a social life as well, to avoid the routine home-work-home. Just that last Tuesday, when I woke up I realised that it would be perfect if I would never ever work in my life :)


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Monday, October 04, 2010

Viata Bate Filmul!

Stiti filmele alea americane in care tot ce s-ar putea intampla rau chiar se intampla? Ei bine, asa s-ar putea rezuma prima mea zi de 'munca' in Berlin. M-am trezit la timp (si chiar fara ajutorul alarmei) si am facut totul 'ca la carte', dar se pare ca nu a fost suficient. Am plecat in graba, convinsa ca sunt in intarziere (caci fiecare ceas pe care il am arata alta ora) si cand eram aproape de statia de S-Bahn, am vazut trenul venind, asa ca am incercat sa fug, in speranta ca o sa il prind. Am incercat, am spus, caci un balerin mi-a scapat din piciorul drept (pe modelul 'Cenusareasa'), asta pe langa faptul ca dresul meu de pe piciorul stang a inceput sa alunece (probabil ca banda adeziva nu se mai lipea de piele) si a facut asta in permanenta pe tot parcursul drumului. Cum spuneam, nu am reusit sa prind trenul, dar abia cand am ajuns in statie mi-am dat seama ca oricum am ajuns cu 10 minute mai devreme si ca practic am pierdut un tren pe care nici nu trebuia sa il iau. Dar bucuria nu mi-a fost prea mare, caci trenul de la 11:10 a fost anulat, iar urmatorul a venit mult mai tarziu (cam in 20 de minute). Iar in urmatorul tren in care m-am urcat dupa ce am schimbat S-ul cu U-ul niste lautari romani (de fapt, o romanca si un roman) cantau "Ionel, Ionelule". Minunat! SAU NU! Macar am avut timp sa ma ocup de dres, dar doar pe termen scurt, caci m-a chinuit pe toata durata calatoriei, asa ca inainte de a ajunge la 'birou' a trebuit sa fac o 'escala' la un magazin si sa imi cumpar o alta pereche, dar din pacate nu am avut si timp sa o inlocuiesc.

Macar la ICD totul a fost in regula, am avut parte de o scurta inductie, apoi am stat de vorba si cu directorul institutului (pare OK, dar vorbeste foarte repede), numai ca asta s-a cam intamplat in timpul pauzei de masa, asa ca nu am reusit decat sa imi iau ceva de mancare de la un supermarket de jos, dar nu sa si mananc. Insa am putut sa imi rezolv problema cu dresurile :)
In rest, nu s-a mai intamplat nimic notabil la 'serviciu', doar in drum spre casa, la vreo 10 metri distanta de bloc iar am avut probleme cu dresurile (perechea noua!), dar am grabit pasul si am ajuns in scara si m-am bucurat enorm ca ziua se terminase.


Prima saptamana de munca a trecut fara prea multe evenimente iesite din comun. Am intalnit multa lume la ICD, toti tineri si foarte OK, am si iesit impreuna de vreo doua ori pana acum si cred ca totul o sa fie in regula din punctul asta de vedere, desi majoritatea sunt aici pentru 3 luni, deci lumea tot vine si pleaca la ICD. Momentan sarcinile mele nu sunt foarte complexe, amd facut baze de data in a doua zi de lucru, apoi am inceput sa sun la facultati din Romania, ca sa ii invit pe studenti si profesori la evenimentul pe care il organizam in noiembrie. Surprinzator, toti (si aici includ mai ales secretarele) au fost foarte deschisi, probabil pentru ca ii sun sin Berlin si nu se asteptau la o astfel de atentie. Acum trebuie doar sa ma obisnuiesc cu rutina trezitului de dimineata, mai ales ca e mult de lucru si nu mai facem ture (dimineata sau dupa-amiaza), asa ca in majoritatea zilelor merg de la 09:30- la 17:30. Partea buna e ca ajung nesperat de repede la birou, mai ales daca stau sa ma gandesc ca schimb mijlocul de transport de doua ori si strabat aproape jumatate din centrul orasului (iar cei care au fost in Berlin stiu ca asta inseamna mult).

In curand o sa va prezint si camera mea, dar momentan e inca putina dezorganizare aici, pur si simplu nu am avut prea mult timp ori chef sa aduc lucrurile la normal, dar lucrez la asta. Si pentru ca blogul nu a mai fost in sfera mea de interes de ceva vreme, va anunt ca nu o sa pun poze si nici nu o sa scriu nimic despre perioada petrecuta in Bucuresti ori calatoria in Danemarca (ambele au fost minunate), caci o sa vedeti fotografiile in cateva zile pe Facebook, iar pentru detalii ma puteti contacta in privat! :)


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Worse Than In A Movie!

Do you know those American movies in which everything that can go actually goes wrong? Well, this is the easiest way to sum up my first day of work in Berlin. I woke up on time, even without the help of the alarm clock and I did everything by the book, but it wasn't enough. I left in a hurry, convinced that I'm late (I wasn't in fact), so I tried to run, but I dropped one of my shoes ("Cinderella"style) and one of my hold-ups kept on getting lower and lower. I didn't manage to catch the train, but when I arrived in the station I realised that I was 10 minutes earlier anyways, so I had practically missed a train that I wasn't even supposed to get on. My joy soon faded though, because the 11:10 train (THE train) was cancelled and the next one came much later. After I finally got on a train and later swapped it, I came across to some Romanian singers, playing a very famous Romanian song on the accordion. Great! NOT! The only good thing about this whole messed up situation was that I had the time to take care of the hold-up, which bothered me the entire trip, but on the way to the office I had to stop to a shop and buy another pair, although I didn't also have the time to change.

At the ICD everything was fine, I went through a short induction, then I had a meeting with the director of the institute (he seems ok, but he speaks SO fast), just that this happened during the lunch break, so I only got the chance to grab something to eat, but not to eat it as well. But I managed to swap the hold-ups! Other than that, nothing really interesting happened...On my way home, about 10 meters away from my block I had another problem with the new hold-ups, but I rushed and entered the stairway, very happy that my day was finally off.

The first week of work passed without any unusual events, I've met a lot of nice people at the ICD, all very young-ish, we went out for a couple of times so I believe I'll have a nice company, just that most of my colleagues are there for 3 months.I don't have any demanding tasks, I did some databasing on my second day of work, then I started calling Universities in Romania and invite students and professors to an event taking place in November. Surprisingly, the secretaries were all very opened, probably because I was calling from Berlin and they were not expecting such kind of attention.

My biggest issue right now is getting used to the morning routine, especially since now there is a higher working volume, so I have to go from 09:30 til 17:30 every day. Luckily it doesn't take that long to get to the office, considering that I have to swap trains twice and I have to cross almost half a city centre (those who have been to Berlin know how much does that mean).

I'll introduce you to my room soon, but I was pretty busy and lazy later. Admittedly, I didn't focus too much on the blog lately, and so I won't be posting any previous photos, from my period in Bucharest or from the trip to Denmark, you'll probably see them on Facebook. For further details you can always contact me in private! :)



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